CA Court Rules Cyber Cafe Cameras Constitutional

Posted by Cliff on Saturday January 31, 2004 @09:30AM from the big-brother-is-alive-and-well dept.

mbstone writes: "A California appellate court has upheld [PDF link], 2-1, a Garden Grove, California ordinance requiring so-called 'cyber cafes' to impose a curfew, hire security guards, and install video surveillance cameras capable of identifying patrons. The opinion is a must-read; the dissenting judge called the law 'Orwellian,' and pointed out that 'even the government of Malaysia' was 'too ashamed to enforce' a similar proposal." It appears that the ordinances were enacted in part due to crime involving "gang activity" and to curtail school-children from using the facilities during school hours (unless accompanied by a guardian).

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How far does this go? by Flexagon · 2004-01-31 11:36 · Score: 2, Funny

From the opinion:
The CyberCafe ordinance defines a "CyberCafe" as an establishment that provides Internet access to fee paying customers.
Sounds like all ISPs are CyberCafes in Garden Grove. Are those ISPs similarly required to monitor their customers? Even if it's not interpreted that widely, how about libraries that charge for access, say, beyond 1 hour?