Beijing Reports Closing Illegal Internet Cafes

Chinese authorities shut down more than 12,575 Internet cafes from October to December last year for operating illegally, the government said.

The crackdown was done to create a “safer environment for young people in China,” the official New China News Agency said Sunday. It didn’t give details of the violations, but said the businesses closed were near primary schools and middle schools.

China promotes Internet use for business and education, but authorities say that Internet cafes provide children access to violent games and sexually explicit material. Internet cafes are banned near schools and the hours that children can use them are restricted.