China mutes law professor on social media after cybersecurity ID plan criticism

Before the switch-off, Lao Dongyan compared online attacks of her views to the Cultural Revolution’s big character posters

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Lao Dongyan, a law professor with Tsinghua University, is a prominent critic on social policy issues in China. Photo: Baidu

Published: 6:00pm, 8 Aug 2024

A prominent Chinese law professor has been silenced on social media after she complained of being attacked online over her vocal objection to plans for a national cybersecurity ID system.

The Weibo account of criminal law academic Lao Dongyan from Tsinghua University in Beijing has been muted because she “violated relevant rules” according to a notice on her front page. The ban is understood to be in effect for 90 days.

Weibo has also forbidden users from following Lao’s account, giving the same reason. Lao currently has nearly 800,000 followers on the platform. Her last post on Tuesday night was quickly removed.

In it, Lao said she was the target of online attacks which she compared to the big character posters – da zi bao in Chinese – which were a popular way to attack political opponents during the Cultural Revolution.

According to Lao, the attacks followed her objections to the digital ID plan released on July 25 by the Ministry of Public Security and the Cyberspace Administration of China for a 30-day public consultation period.

“This is the first time the authority’s people are circulating da zi bao about me. That brought the attack on me to a new level … As for the reason, [I think] it was obviously because I raised objections to a certain public consultation,” she wrote.