City Council restricts minors' access to an eight-and-a-half hour cybercafe window with a tough curfew.
Like a steaming cup of fraggin' with your morning latte? If you live in Los Angeles and are under 18, you'll soon be out of luck. Yesterday, the Los Angeles City Council passed an ordinance to restrict minors' access to Internet cafes in general--and to game parlors in particular. According to the LA Daily News, the ordinance affects "cybercafes," or any establishment that "provides five or more computers with Internet access." The council identified 30 cybercafes, LAN parlors, and Korean-style "PC Baangs" as falling under the ordinance, most of which are located in the San Fernando Valley.
To even open their doors legally, owners of affected businesses will first have to obtain a permit from the police. To get a permit, the businesses will have to comply with a series of new rules, including guaranteeing that at least one 18-year-old employee will be on duty at any given time. Cybercafes will also only be able to have a maximum of one computer per 20 feet of floor space, and some will be required to both construct separate waiting areas and install video cameras.
News source: GameSpot
