The internet "is disease and danger wrapped in darkness and silence", and the Mumbai government is going to do something about it.

Very soon any criminal entering a cybercafe will have to record their fingerprints before using the services. Oh, and by criminals we mean everyone, innocent until proven guilty is apparently a luxury we can't afford anymore.

Naturally the CyberCafe owners are vigorously protesting against the proposition. Ashish Saboo, president of Association of Public ICT Tools Access Provider, Mumbai chapter, complains: "Making fingerprint system compulsory is not a good idea and may not be feasible... police should first close down 1,000 unauthorised cafes operating in the city to bring down cyber crimes, Nowhere in the world do cybercafés have fingerprint scanners installed. Then why in Mumbai?". Which is an interesting point, since illegal cybercafe will feel no obligation to record fingerprints anyway, making the entire system a useless extravagance.

It is easier for additional security to be placed in an arena more easy for the police to control, but it isn't necessarily the best approach. Already cybercafe visitors are required to display a proof of identity, which the cybercafe owners are supposed to maintain a log of. What they plan to do now is to record the fingerprints of each customer and place cameras in cybercafes to enable identification of everyone who accesses the internet.

The internet is a realm of anonymity, and this is one of the reasons it's so attractive. The only way you can keep yourself protected is by educating yourself about the dangers that lurk. Like kids are taught not to take candy from strangers, people now need to be taught not to accept social network invites from strangers, or not to fall for lotteries they never participated in.

If people in Mumbai have to show an identity proof and record their fingerprints before using a cybercafe, this will be good news for internet provides, who are sure to see more people opting for internet at their homes. Unless the police get there as well.