Philippines Puts Curfew on Internet Cafes for Minors

Pao|o writes "The Philippine government, in all its wisdom, has recently passed laws to restrict the use of the net by minors. Read more about it here." Specifically, they're worried about Internet cafes. The story (in the Phillipine Daily Inquirer), says, "Concern over the operation of Internet centers heightened after Supt. Louie Oppus, Tagbilaran police chief, revealed that these establishments are being watched because they have become favorite hangouts of drug pushers and drug users."

Comments

Hey, your prejudiced slips are showing...

[DukeTuring]

First of all, I'd like to wish that more people read the article first before spewing out their vitriolic at a third world country they know very little about...

Just so you know where I'm coming from, I'm a from that country... and I'd like to note a few things:

• It's a city ordinance of Tagbilaran city, a small city in the Visayas region: IT does not apply to the entire country.

• As a few already noted, it's more about controlling truancy rather than restricting Internet access (if you read more carefully, there's an exception to the ordinance for students if they have the teacher's permission). So it's not about an anti-internet access per se, but more about protecting children's welfare.

• As for the anti-porn restriction, I can understand where that's coming from : the Philippines has a strong Catholic legacy. We tend to be more prudish/conservative in terms of what we say we believe (not necessarily in what we do, however ;^))

• We are a third world that came out of twenty-plus-years of dictatorship (1973-1986) with very strong feelings for democracy and liberty. While we do have problems (and boy, do we have problems!), our government's attitude toward the Internet has been, in general, positive or at least neutral -- which is why, although its not as widespread as anyone here in the Philippines would like, Internet access is, at least, flourishing...