China Enacts More Filtering Measures

According to Beijing news reports, Chinese government has enacted further measures to enforce cyber-surveillance of Internet cafés. In this “Big Brother-style system,” these users will be required to have their mugshots taken and their ID card swiped in all of Beijing’s 1,500 Internet cafés. As a result, these cafés could become “places for all kinds of spying and informing,” as RSF speculates.

In addition, the Cultural Law Enforcement Agency has imposed a three-hour maximum for visits to Internet cafés to limit the Internet’s “negative influences.”

In 2003, the Chinese government began integrating surveillance software into Internet café systems to monitor Internet usage. Cyber-police pop up on the user’s screen every 30 minutes to remind users that authorities are recording data on browsing history and usage.

China is considered one of the most repressive countries in terms of Internet surveillance and filtration, with over 50 cyber-dissidents currently in prison and 40,000 cyber-police deployed online each day to monitor Internet usage.