Nepal Telecommunication Authority has implemented new guidelines which requires ID card to be presented to surf internet. The cybercafes in Nepal should start taking records of their customers within three months (before Dashain festival).

The record should include:

• Identification card (Nepali), or Passport (foreigners)
• Name address
• Entry time
• Duration of Internet surfing
• The computer used

Let’s analyze why it won’t work:

1. Privacy – opens a black market to sell personal information

The record is very
valuable information. If every cybercaf̩ start collecting such information, like Name, address, internet surfing habits, this data will be very useful to marketers and criminals. If that information goes to wrong hands, the details can be used for criminal activities like Рblackmailing, abducting etc.

The cybercafe can sell such personal information to make easy cash.

2. Criminals don’t need to record everything

Suppose I am a cyber criminal. I will go to one of the cybercafe and make a deal, to pay Rs. 100 per hour (if regular price is Rs. 20 per hour) if they don’t record my personal information. The guy will make eno
ugh profit to bribe any police officer if they happen to find about the incident.

3. Software and logistics

I am sure the government will not provide the software and other logistics to record such details. The owner of cybercafe will need to invest extra in hardware and manpower. The extra cost doesn’t motivate the owners to keep the record. Most of them will try to fake the record.

4. Tax – Cyber cafe can’t evade tax

If everybody record the exact statistics of their visitors, they might need to pay tax, which otherwise they won’t pay. How can the government expect the cybercafé owners to let the axe fa
ll on their own feet?

5. Other reasons

The government doesn’t know how to deal with internet. They have failed to control VOIP and sex websites. This is another example of short-slightness of our government.

Yes, there are a lot of of other reasons the new regulation won’t work. Please comment what you think in the comment section. (Photos collected from various online sources)

Here are some of the posts I had written about Nepal Government’s previous unsuccessful attempts to block websites:

• Blocked sites in Nepal – Analysis of remaining websites in the list
• Nepali ‘Ban-List’ is a promotion list – please add xnepali.net in it!
• Internet black-list updated – 56 sites in the new list
• Blogspot blogs, Huffingtonpost, SFSI among blocked websites in Nepal
• 60 P0rn sites blocked in Nepal
• After two months of ban on Explicit websites, the govt. couldn’t implement it
• 5 VOIP sites blocked in Nepal
• Explicit websites blocked in Nepal