Monday, December 25, 2006

Censorship in Ethiopia enters the next phase - All Internet cafes ordered to register users

Groum Abate

The Ethiopian Telecommunication Agency is distributing forms for Internet cafes in the country to register internet users. Sources said that the agency in collaboration with the Federal Police is disbursing the letter to all cyber cafes in Addis Ababa and other major towns.

The form requests the internet user’s ID, full name and residential address. Users will be registered and police officials would collect the form for identification. If an internet cafĂ© is found giving service to unregistered customers, the owners would be jailed for violation of the regulation with severe punishment.