China Shuts Down 8,600 Cybercafes

ThatGuyAZ writes "China has shut down over 8,600 internet cafes in the last two months as a part of a new crackdown on "underage" internet use. The crackdown has also limited access to blogs, and forums, and requires video surveilance of cybercafe patrons. Only in China would a reduction of internet access to the public be called an "education campaign"."

Comments

Re:yeah..

[L-Train8]

Um, how about the PATRIOT act? According to the American Library Association's website, the law now permits the FBI to compel libraries to produce library Internet use records without a warrant.

While it doesn't directly close down those library terminals, it is certainly comparable to the Chinese practice of requiring video surveillance of cybercafe patrons. And that goes a long way toward discouraging use of the internet for anything that the government doesn't like.