A Few Response about Government's Policies Plan to Cyber Cafe

A few months ago, I wrote about "Warnet = Publik" which argued that there was no such privacy in Cyber Cafe ( Warnet is an abbreviation of Warung Internet which literally means or Internet Cafe or Cyber Cafe).

Here, I won't talk about whether Cyber Cafe is a public place. Instead, I will talk about some ideas which have been proposed by Indonesian Government which are visitor registration, classification of user, lowering the separator veil, and cctv.

I agree the idea of visitor registration. It will help the forensic, tracking the perpetrator. However, this idea should be supported by a strict policy and good law enforcement about Indonesian ID card. As we have known, it is easy for someone to create fake ID card (KTP). The data in ID card (pictures, address, signature, name, etc.) should be recorded.

Note that picture is important due the name and other information, can be faked. Hence, the cybercafe should have a device to obtain the picture, especially the current picture (sometimes the picture in ID card is outdated due to either weight loss or weight gain). It can be a digital camera, a webcam, or a cctv.

I also agree the classification of user, adult or child. However this classification should be compensated by the degree of freedom (I'll explain it later).

I disagree about lowering the separator veil between visitors. The problem is we should respect the privacy although cybercafe is a public place. Imagine a public toilet, which is a public but you still have privacy.

Hence, what I have in mind is, if a cybercafe has classification policy, you shall give the visitor privacy. Otherwise, what is the use of classification? Imagine you are an immoral visitor who want to visit a porn site and the cybercafe classified you as adult which gave you access to the material. However, if the separator veil is lowered then underage visitor can peek the material. Thus, what is the purpose of classification?

The problem of illegal transaction should not be a problem if the cybercafe records sufficient information which help the authorized tracked the criminal. I know there is a saying "a prevention is better than a cure", however, I still believe in privacy and innocent prejudice principle.

Last, I disagree if the government regulates all cybercafe should have CCTV. Our people are not that rich. However, the CCTV is a good idea and the idea can be a recommendation instead of obligation.