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Prevention of Vice Travel: Beijing Putting Further Restrictions on Internet Cafes

We already heard that Beijing's cabs are stocked with spy equipment, and now it seems we'll have to be extra careful when entering or leaving an internet cafe in the city. Starting in 2009, not only will we have to show ID to get online, we'll be photographed and have our personal info "placed in a file," according to Xinhua.

Tech blog Ars Technica puts the further restrictions in perspective:

China's latest surveillance move comes just months after the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing closed, taking the only-slightly-more-open Internet with them. China had originally promised that the Internet connection in parts of Beijing would be unrestricted in order for the press to be able to report on the games as they do elsewhere, although that ended up being not quite true.

In the end, China agreed to lighten up its heavy filtering and censorship a little bit, but wouldn't lift it all the way in the name of protecting citizens from "unhealthy" and unapproved online content.

If you're headed to China and would rather not have the government all up in your business, we have some advice on circumventing internet filters.

Related Stories:
· Smile, You're on Internet Cafe Camera! [AT]
· Beijing: Cab Driver... Or Spy? [Jaunted]

[Photo: jon crel]

Dubai / Dubai Travel / Internet Cafes / Internet / Emirates / DXB / → All Tags

Internet Crash Travel: No Emailing Travel Snapshots This Week

So that's why you haven't been able to upload your photos at the Internet cafe in Jodhpur. Two big underwater communications cables under the Mediterranean got damaged yesterday, hampering web access from Egypt to India. The slow-down scared more than just photo-happy tourists: Passengers on Emirates Airlines, with its headquarters in Dubai, feared their flights would be grounded.

Still, airline reps say there aren't problems with scheduled flights out of the region. But that isn't what Dubai International Airport workers are saying; they've reported problems on the ground since the cables were cut.

Not everyone in the Middle East is without YouTube, though. Israel is on a different undersea cable, and folks in Lebanon and Iraq are both able to get online. Lucky: You'll still be able to research your Euphrates River shark fishing expedition.

Related Stories:
· Internet Outage Hits India, Middle East [AP, via Google]
· Internet Failure Hits Two Continents [CNN]
· Dubai Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Marc Shandro]