You're right that it is a privately owned network. It's public in the same way sitting at a table in Starbucks is public - though I don't think you should expect any privacy in that setting either.
What is the diffence between a camera and big brother sitting behind you looking over your shoulder? At least with the camera you know your being watched. It's perfectly legal for me to watch you as you type. It's perfectly legal for me to write down your license plate as you drive away. A camera has suddenly taken your sense of security away when you shouldn't have had one in the first place. And what's the difference between a cybercafe that promotes free speech and one that enables child pornography? Law has to be put into the equation somewhere or we'd have anarchy. I don't have a problem with the government restricting rights in (public) places as long as those rights are still available elsewhere.
As far as forcing them to use cameras, the government makes a lot of things mandatory for businesses for the good of the public - that's what we pay them for.
And you still have that anonymity. Write all the anonymous papers you want - just don't do it in a cybercafe on a PUBLIC network. There is a big difference between having anonymity and having it everywhere you WANT (or think you deserve) it.
The government forces you to do a lot of things. Pay taxes, wash your hands after pissin, background checks on gun purchases, etc..., and now they force you to keep people from abusing the public services you provide. What's the problem with that?
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You're right that it is a privately owned network. It's public in the same way sitting at a table in Starbucks is public - though I don't think you should expect any privacy in that setting either.
What is the diffence between a camera and big brother sitting behind you looking over your shoulder? At least with the camera you know your being watched. It's perfectly legal for me to watch you as you type. It's perfectly legal for me to write down your license plate as you drive away. A camera has suddenly taken your sense of security away when you shouldn't have had one in the first place. And what's the difference between a cybercafe that promotes free speech and one that enables child pornography? Law has to be put into the equation somewhere or we'd have anarchy. I don't have a problem with the government restricting rights in (public) places as long as those rights are still available elsewhere.
As far as forcing them to use cameras, the government makes a lot of things mandatory for businesses for the good of the public - that's what we pay them for.
And you still have that anonymity. Write all the anonymous papers you want - just don't do it in a cybercafe on a PUBLIC network. There is a big difference between having anonymity and having it everywhere you WANT (or think you deserve) it.
The government forces you to do a lot of things. Pay taxes, wash your hands after pissin, background checks on gun purchases, etc..., and now they force you to keep people from abusing the public services you provide. What's the problem with that?