5 reasons the new Cybercafe ID requirement rule will fail

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 cybercafé 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 – blackmailing, abducting etc.

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

cyber_cafe_pokhara

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:

ID requirement in Cyber Cafe – will it work?

Nepal government has instructed Cyber Cafes in Nepal to check personal identification of every customer before they are allowed to surf the internet. This new requirement is the latest in a series of ‘desperate’ steps taken by the government to control ‘cyber crime’.

It is not a bad idea to keep a log of everybody who uses internet in a public place. That would certainly help investigators to track criminals. A law-abiding citizen wouldn’t mind a little hassle of showing his IDs in Cyber Cafe.

But, the big questions are – will it be implemented properly ? Is there a proper monitoring body, effective enough to monitor the requirement ?

And, past experience shows immatureness in decision taking. They have taken decision in hurry and later realize the decision can’t be implemented at all.

 Continue reading