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In China coffee shop wifi requires citizen ID to use. At least in Beijing. Yes fuck Chinese government, but 5 years later western governments will follow this
by est 14y ago
In China coffee shop wifi requires citizen ID to use. At least in Beijing.
Yes fuck Chinese government, but 5 years later western governments will follow this way
- naner 14y agoThat's oddly similar to network access in Ender's Game.
- matt4711 14y agoI was in Beijing a few days ago and in most of the restaurants/cafes I only had to ask the waiter for the wifi password. No id checks required. Some of the "western" bars even have a vpn running so you can browse facebook when connecting to their wifi.
- SoftwareMaven 14y agoDo you look western or Chinese?
- matt4711 14y agoI'm western looking but they gave the password to anyone who asked (including locals)
- knowaveragejoe 14y agoSomehow doubt this will happen - as other posters pointed out, it's not even as strictly enforced as you make it sound.
- eschulte 14y agosee: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501465_162-20027837-501465.html http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501465_162-20027837-501465.html title: Obama Eyeing Internet ID for Americans
- yhczx 14y agoMeh… It's not a good idea, but thanks to camcorders.
- alister 14y ago> but 5 years later western governments will follow this way I don't want to minimize the assault on our privacy and anonymity from all directions, but the one positive trend in the US and Canada has been toward less ID or no ID for using Internet cafes. I remember the early days of Internet cafes in North America, and they very often wanted to see ID. These days there are lots of public wifi hotspots, where at most they ask for an email address (a throwaway email address works fine). The purpose of collecting an email address appears to be CYA -- they get some assurance that you've agreed to their Terms and Conditions.
- nivla 14y agoBut I have also seen a trend where cafes and bookstores are moving towards brand based wifi service. For example, Barnes and Noble stores offer free wifi through at&t. This require not only for you to be a at&t customer, but also to give up a good amount of your privacy.
- eropple 14y agoI am an AT&T customer, but I have never, ever been asked about my AT&T subscription on B&N's wifi. Or anywhere else that uses AT&T's hotspot service.
- lifeguard 14y agoThis would be problematic if there was not rampant corruption in China.