McDonald’s and Starbucks agree block US customers using Wi-Fi to look at porn
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 19 July, 2016, 1:48pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 19 July, 2016, 10:42pm
Associated Press
McDonald’s and Starbucks are implementing filtering technology that blocks customers using their Wi-Fi from accessing pornography sites.
The move in the US follows a campaign from anti-pornography groups Enough is Enough and the National Center on Sexual Exploitation to demand the chains filter out pornography.
Oak Brook, Illinois-based McDonald’s says in a statement that Wi-Fi filtering has been activated in the majority of its nearly 14,000 restaurants nationwide. A spokesperson for Seattle-based Starbucks says it is implementing filtering once it can find a system that “also doesn’t involuntarily block unintended content.”
Enough is Enough President Donna Rice Hughes applauds the moves and says the organisation plans to push other businesses and venues to filter their Wi-Fi.
“We are pleased by Starbucks’ decision to make its stores safer for families and children by pursuing an effective Wi-Fi filtering solution,” she said.
“We are hopeful that in the very near future, Starbucks will be filtering their coffee and their Wi-Fi, both nationally and globally.”
Customers streaming pornography isn’t the only unexpected consequence Starbucks has faced since the chain began offering free Wi-Fi in 2002, when many people still relied on Ethernet cables at home to access the internet. Wi-Fi played a key role in turning Starbucks into what the company calls a “third place,” where people can socialise, work, or relax outside of the home and office.
The National Centre for Sexual Exploitation says chains such as Chick-fil-A and Panera Bread already block porn on Wi-Fi.
