The Jordanian IT sector voiced concern this week about current regulations on Internet cafés, saying they could inhibit the spread of e-culture in the country and stunt the IT industry's development.
"In the past few weeks, various members of the IT (information technology) sector voiced their concerns regarding the new regulations issued by the Ministry of Interior imposing restrictions on Internet cafés," said a statement issued by Int@j, the IT association of Jordan. "The perspective from which those establishments [Internet cafés] are viewed can affect drastically how they are regarded and addressed by government."
The statement was issued after Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Awad Khleifat asked local governors to ignore amended regulations on Internet cafés and refer instead to previous regulations.
But IT leaders implicitly criticized the move, saying new regulations for Internet cafés are being discussed by a special body — the Reach Advisory Council — recently created to ensure private-public sector cooperation in support of IT development.
"On the agenda of the Reach Advisory Council's second monthly meeting, which was held on December 23, the council's chairman, Minister of Telecommunications and Post Fawwaz Zu'bi, requested a review of the Internet café regulations, following discussions with the Ministry of Interior," Int@j said the statement.
"Acting upon Dr. Zu'bi's initiative, a review was undertaken and will be presented in the form of a position paper at the next council meeting, to be held on January 31," the statement continued. "To ensure participation of all stakeholders, the process was opened up to include participation by the Ministry of Telecommunications and Post, the Ministry of Interior, and the private sector to work collectively with members of the Reach Advisory Council."
"Reach" is the acronym that has come to indicate the five-year national strategy for the development of the software and IT industry, endorsed by King Abdullah in June 1999 and reviewed in September 2000.
The statement added that Int@j was asked to "present the private sectors' concerns in the form of a position paper that will be available for review at www.reach.jo after Wednesday's meeting."
Regulations for Internet cafés endorsed in December required owners to keep specific users' logs and stipulated that each computer have a unique Internet protocol address and a log file to track down all applications and sites browsed by each patron.
Former regulations stipulated that café owners hold academic qualifications in IT or related fields, limited operating hours until midnight and required a minimum distance of 200 meters between Internet cafes and places of worship (this requirement was reduced to 100 meters in the amended regulations). Both old and new regulations prohibit the admittance of anyone under the age of 16 to the cafes. But Int@j seems to be ready to push for lifting many of these restrictions.
"They are called Internet cafés, [but], although some do serve coffee and tea to their patrons, they are the furthest from being coffee shops, and the proper naming should be Internet libraries. Those are the libraries of the future," yesterday's statement read.
"They offer their patrons access to a wealth of information that is available on the Internet today. Moreover, those establishments serve mostly the young who are starving for knowledge but are not privileged to own a personal computer, and cannot afford an Internet connection at home. One of the youngest users of such facilities could become the future Bill Gates of Jordan," the statement said.
IT leaders promised that the paper they will unveil will "outline various reservations the private sector has concerning the current Internet café regulations, the reasons supporting those reservations and proposed solutions that may serve the best interest of the local IT community."
Issues such as age limitations, keeping user logs for each visitor, personal liabilities imposed on supervisors and managers, and limitations on the "cumbersome bureaucratic procedures to register new Internet cafés and ownership restrictions that are inconsistent with Jordan's national IT initiatives and policies" will be among the paper's topics, according to the statement.
"Int@j is very optimistic about the success of this transparent process, which is being supported by Minister Zu'bi and the Reach Advisory Council," the statement concluded. — ( Jordan Times )
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
