If you want to participate in your Thursday ritual of eating a 10-piece chicken nuggets at your local McDonald’s while watching “Best Head EVER,” you’ll have to start using your data plan.
The chain restaurant is the latest to join Enough is Enough (EIE), an organization dedicated to “making the internet safer for children and families,” and will filter its free Wi-Fi from porn and child porn.
“Parents can have peace of mind that, when they or their children go to McDonald’s, they will have a safer and more friendly Wi-Fi experience,” Enough is Enough President Donna Rice Hughes said in a press release. McDonald’s had already implemented these filters in the U.K., and began filtering the Wi-Fi at its corporate-owned stores earlier this year. It joins other popular chains like Panera Bread, Subway, and Chick-Fil-A in creating a porn-free environment.
A McDonald’s spokesperson told the Daily Dot that the chain hasn’t had any complaints about people watching porn in its restaurants, but “we saw an opportunity that is consistent with our goal of providing an enjoyable experience for families.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to EIE about their petitions to no avail, but its pledge to filter risky material raises the question: Just where the hell can you watch porn on free Wi-Fi these days?
A quick search shows that Applebee’s and Dunkin’ Donuts have terms in their Wi-Fi agreements about no “obscene” materials. Also, two years ago Au Bon Pain’s public Wi-Fi was found to be blocking not only porn sites, but NARAL, GLAAD, and other pro-gay and pro-choice websites. The Daily Dot has reached out to Burger King about its policy, but according to some customers it can be done.
According to EIE, Starbucks has been slow to change their Wi-Fi policy to block pornographic sites, even though occasionally it’s had incidents where customers had to be asked to stop watching porn in its stores. Starbucks hasn’t responded to the Daily Dot’s request for comment as of this posting, so for now, Frappucino and chill?
And for those who’d rather enjoy their adult content with a side of mozzarella sticks, a representative from TurnKey Technologies, which provides Denny’s with all of its Wi-Fi services, also informed the Daily Dot it does not provide filters on the chain’s service. Truly, a Grand Slam.
Update 4:36pm CT, June 20: Starbucks is now looking to block porn on its free Wi-Fi. The company said in a statement, “Once we determine that our customers can access our free Wi-Fi in a way that also doesn’t involuntarily block unintended content, we will implement this in our stores. In the meantime, we reserve the right to stop any behavior that interferes with our customer experience, including what is accessed on our free Wi-Fi.”
