China To Photograph All Internet Cafe Customers

Gwaihir the Windlord writes "Not only is the Great Firewall of China back up and running, but now if you visit an Internet cafe, your photo will be taken and your identity card scanned. And the friendly officers of the Cultural Law Enforcement Taskforce make those details, entered into a city-wide database, available at any other cafe. So much for the new levels of openness and transparency that the Olympics were supposed to usher in."

Comments

In other words China is where Italy was years ago

[itsme1234]

Quoting from http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/12/11/0512216&tid=158

"CNN is reporting that a new Italian law requires that all businesses offering public internet access, such as web cafes, to identify and record all customers. While supporters of this law trumpet its anti-terrorism potential, still others see no such advantage and bemoan this invasion of personal privacy. 'They must be able, if necessary, to track the sites visited by their clients. [...]"

And yes, the law is pretty much alive and well. Also you can't stay anywhere in Italy unless they copy your passport and send it to the police. Free wifi providers (think Starbucks like) have been already fined/prosecuted. You can't get a prepaid SIM card in many European countries without showing your passport and in some cases your "registration" (i.e. the fact that you're a local resident with a "registered address").

Re:Hardly a Chinese issue

[MightyYar]

Even China's Tianamen Square atrocity has a western parallel with the USA's killing of Vietnam war protesters at Kent State University in 1970.

You don't see the difference between a protest getting out of hand and the siege of a city by an army? You know that the day after the Kent State shootings, 8 million college kids protested? How many people protested the day after Tienanmen Square? You know that Kent State was in no way a peaceful protest, but a full-on riot? Fires, property damage, people attacking fire fighters and later the national guard. Contrast this with people peacefully assembled in a square.

Re:Hardly a Chinese issue

[thermian]

Even China's Tianamen Square atrocity has a western parallel with the USA's killing of Vietnam war protesters at Kent State University in 1970.

Wrong, there has been, and continues to be, absolutely no attempt by the US government to disallow access to websites that mention the Kent State University incident.