The English government declared that coffee shops were hot beds of political dissent, rumor-mongering and libels against the King’s merchants and banned them.‚ Evenetually the coffee merchants raised a petition and the government decided to allow coffee shops again on the condition that they “should prevent all scandalous papers, books, and libels from being read in tehm; and hinder every person from declaring, uttering or divulging all manner of false and scandalous reports against government, or the ministers thereof”.‚ Free speech wasn’t really a priority at the time.