Most cafes or coffee places would install WiFi services in store so customers could enjoy a cup of coffee while getting their work done. But there are a group of customers that would abuse the public WiFi by watching explicit content on their devices which could be a nuisance to the public. To combat that problem, Starbucks has recently announced that they will introduce a filter that prevents customers from viewing porn and other explicit content in store starting next year.
Starbucks said to The Verge, “While it rarely occurs, the use of Starbucks public WiFi to view illegal or egregious content is not, nor has it ever been permitted. We have identified a solution to prevent this content from being viewed within our stores and we will begin introducing it to our US locations in 2019.”
Although Starbucks declined to give details on the solution but said the company tested multiple tools, hoping to avoid accidentally blocking unoffensive sites.
An internet safety organization known as “Enough is Enough” has been pressuring Starbucks and other franchises with in-store internet access to put up content filters for years. Take McDonald’s for example, in the year of 2016, McDonald’s was one of the franchises being pressured to block porn on on its public WiFi networks. By doing so, Starbucks was obliged to do the same but did not take any actions after, as they could not find a content blocker that wouldn’t block unintended sites.
“Starbucks had failed to protect its customers and follow through with its plan to block explicit content. By breaking its commitment, Starbucks is keeping the doors wide open for convicted sex offenders and others to fly under the radar from law enforcement and use free, public WiFi services to access illegal child porn and hard-core pornography,” said Donna Rice Hughes, CEO of Enough is Enough.
By applying filter to its public WiFi networks, it benefits parents with young children as they could worry less about their children going on the wrong websites and it is also an effective way to ward off unwanted customers who watches pornography in public. It is time to make public WiFi safe and secure.