Los Angeles Approves Restrictions on Cyber Cafes

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Citing problems with truancy and youth violence, the Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday approved an ordinance restricting the hours during which minors can visit Internet cafes and requiring the shops to install video cameras for security.

The ordinance targets "cyber cafes" and "PC baangs" that provide five or more computers with Internet access, including those set up specifically for multiplayer PC video games. The cafes would be required to get a police permit to operate.

Minors under age 18 would not be permitted in the cafes on school days between 8:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., or after 10 p.m., and patrons would be required to provide identification on request.

The law would take effect in the next two months.

In Jan. 2003, City Councilman Dennis Zine called for an investigation into cafes offering Internet access -- and in many cases aimed at young video game players -- after an incident where a brawl broke out between rival groups who had been playing the game "Counter Strike."

City officials told the council Wednesday they had identified 30 "cyber cafes" in the city, more than half of them in the San Fernando Valley. the city's northern region.

A report found that 86 percent of people arrested at cyber cafes were juveniles, and 93 percent of the arrests were for truancy or curfew violations.