McDonald’s And Starbucks Are Taking A Stand For Internet Safety
Apparently, McDonald’s patrons have been taking advantage of McDonald’s free WiFi service to surf porn sites while dining at the restaurant.
According to Fortune, McDonald’s recently changed its free WiFi access to prevent customers from watching pornography on their smartphones and other electronic devices, following years of pressure from the internet safety advocacy group, Enough is Enough (EIE).
“We are pleased to share that WiFi filtering has been activated in the majority of McDonald’s nearly 14,000 restaurants nationwide, improving upon the restaurant experience for our customers,” a McDonald’s spokeswoman told Fortune.
Two years ago, EIE began a campaign to get McDonald’s to change the policy. “Parents can have peace of mind that, when they or their children go to McDonald’s, they will have a safer and more friendly WiFi experience, filtered from pornography, from child porn and from potential sexual exploitation and predation,” EIE President Donna Rice Hughes said in a statement.
EIE recently announced that both McDonald’s and Starbucks have taken the necessary steps for implementation of filtered WiFi to block inappropriate sites. In the release, Hughes said that the organization is pleased that both companies have decided to make its stores safer for families and children by, “pursuing an effective WiFi filtering solution.”
“This is a huge victory,” Hughes said. “We’re proud of Starbucks and McDonalds for stepping up to the plate. Internet pornography is a public health crisis. Parents need to know which family restaurants are safe from online threats.”
A Starbucks spokesperson said that Starbucks is in the process of evaluating a global protocol to address this in all of their company owned stores.
“Once we determine that our customers can access our free WiFi in a way that also doesn’t involuntarily block unintended content, we will implement this in our stores,” the spokesperson continued. “In the meantime, we reserve the right to stop any behavior that interferes with our customer experience, including what is accessed on our free WiFi, as part of our commitment to ensuring that our stores remain a safe and welcoming environment.”
McDonald’s claims that the company wasn’t aware of any pornography related incidents in its stores.
“McDonald’s is committed to providing a safe environment for our customers,” a McDonald’s official told CNN. “We had not heard from our customers that this was an issue, but we saw an opportunity that is consistent with our goal of providing an enjoyable experience for families.”
According to EIE, some smaller chains including Panera Bread and Chick-fil-A already had filters. The anti-porn group also claims that the WiFi filters have become sophisticated enough to allow customers to watch mature but non-pornographic content, such as HBO’s hit show “Game of Thrones.”
Just last year, Target investigated an incident at one of its California stores when X-rated audio was heard over the intercom system, causing the internet to blow up with rage-filled comments.
Awkward: Porn audio plays over speakers at Target store in California; customers upset.http://t.co/IQWSTlGStd pic.twitter.com/UPaPvKgfbb
— FOX 12 Oregon (@fox12oregon) October 16, 2015
Gina Young, the customer who outed Target for this mishap, posted a 30-second video on her Facebook page with the following caption:
“This happened today at Target in Campbell, CA. Porn blasting over the intercom throughout the store. People offered to help me cover my twins ears. Others threw [their] stuff down and walked out. Employees were running around everywhere. Picking and hanging up phones, which worked….for about two minutes before it started up again.
People were screaming at employees, video taping, some laughing some disgusted. It was terribly awkward.”
According to Fortune, this was not the first time that Target customers have heard pornographic noises echoing throughout the store.
EIE launched its “National Porn Free WiFi” campaign in 2014.
[Photo Illustration by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]
