Internet Shops to be monitored by Police

For the last few years, internet shops are mushrooming remarkably in Cambodia, especially in Phnom Penh and some of provinces such as Siem Reap, Sihanoukville, Kampong Cham. Until now, there are estimated 1,000 internet shops in Cambodia.

In order to protect social morality, women’s values, country’s dignity, government have banned the using of 3G videophone, Miss Cambodian Contest and recently making adultery law. At the mean time, Ministry of Post and Telecommunication has plan to push for the police to monitor internet shops to stop internet’s users from viewing pornography and downloading smut. The ministry strategy to crack down on watching porn will be able to affect interne shop’s profit, enable police to use monitoring as excuse to extort money from internet’s owner and the action taken by police will be ineffective.

On the other hand, some of users really have viewed pornography. MPTC Inspection Department said that 3G phones are not as much of a problem as the internet. Adding that “I saw kids and some monks surfing pages and watching porn and six pictures on the internet.”

I think that the new strategy of the government is the additional career for police to pocket money from internet shops’ owner. How does police know that users are opening porn? If they know it means that they stand behind internet’s users all the time, and how can users check and write their personal document? My friend, who is internet shop’s owner, told me that police always have taken her money ($10) two times a year during Khmer New Year and Pchhum Ben. They told her that they need money to buy beers and food for their working group.

What is important is that government should take effective measure against human trafficking, drug using, corruption rather than creating new crimes, extortion and unnecessary law. The illegal pornographic videos have been on sale the markets, why do they not confiscate and destroy them? Why don’t they arrest VCD venders? So the government’s new activities are like a funny story. The developed countries, their people have internet connection at home with low internet fee rate, and they can watch anything without monitoring. But it is strange for Cambodia governments to take care about it.