China Cracks Down (On Internet Cafes)
Joe Gandelman
The Chinese government has had enough of on-line porn so it's moving to reduce the number of potential outlets:
BEIJING: China shut 1600 internet cafes between February and August and imposed 100 million yuan ($NZ18 million) worth of fines for allowing children to play violent or adult-only games and other violations, state media say.
Of 1.8 million internet bars inspected, 18,000 were ordered "to stop operation for rectification", Xinhua news agency quoted Zhang Xinjian, deputy director of the Culture Ministry's market department, as saying.
"Porn, gambling, violence and similar problems have adversely affected the healthy development of the internet in China," Zhang was quoted as saying.
The crackdown comes amid a nationwide push to limit violence and pornography on the internet that has seen the government shut down hundreds of websites it deemed unsavoury.
China has some 87 million internet users, over 50 per cent of whom are under 24 and approximately 18 per cent are minors.
Yeah, but Chinese computer users still get spam about enlargements...
Arnold Harris
Mount Horeb WI