China cracks down with 'swipe and surf' policy
Published: 06 Nov 2002 11:39 GMT
As further testament to the Chinese mainland's hard-line Internet control tactics, a Chinese province now requires cybercafe users to purchase identity cards which allow authorities to track their online activities.
Introduced last month in the central province of Jiangxi, the new system requires Internet cafe patrons to register their name, age and address -- information which is then transferred into a police database.
Customers are subsequently issued access cards that will be swiped each time they visit a cybercafe. This allows the authorities to monitor for unauthorised access to barred sites and block selected cardholders, the Associated Press reported.
"This system gives us more power to prevent crimes and identify criminals on the Internet," said a spokesman from the police computer crime division in the provincial capital of Nanchang.
He added the initiative has been implemented in all 3,200 Internet cafes in the province, and that more than 200,000 cards have been issued to date.
The Chinese government takes a tough stand on unfettered access to the Net. Earlier this year, cybercafes in Beijing and many parts of the mainland were closed following a deadly fire at an Internet cafe in the capital.
Authorities have since reopened the cafes under tighter scrutiny with a slew of new regulations, including barring customers under the age of 16.
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