
After protests dating back to 2014 and a new petition that quickly gained 26,000 signatures, Starbucks now says
it will install blocking mechanisms so patrons can’t access pornography from its free WiFi.
Business Insider first reported that Starbucks will install the blocking software
next year.
A statement from Starbucks to Marketing Daily confirmed that fact and aimed to defect any notion that Starbucks is a magnet for porn watchers.
“While it
rarely occurs, the use of Starbucks public WiFi to view illegal or egregious content is not, nor has it ever been permitted,” the statement says. To ensure that its locations remain
“safe and welcoming to all, we have identified a solution to prevent this content from being viewed within our stores and we will begin introducing it to our U.S. locations in 2019.”
advertisement
advertisement
In 2014, a group called Enough is Enough, representing some 75 other groups, petitioned Starbucks to take steps to block porn sites from being accessed from its WiFi. In 2016, in a CNN
report, the chain indicated the WiFi blocking was coming soon; Enough Is Enough publicly thanked Starbucks (photo above).
But the block never happened.
Led by its president and CEO
Donna Rice Hughes, the group again put pressure on Starbucks on Monday after a new online petition, from a group called CitizenGo, quickly gained 26,000 signatures within a week.
"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," Hughes wrote. "Having unfiltered hotspots also allows children and teens to easily bypass filters and other parental control tools set up by their parents on their
smartphones, tablets and laptops."
The petition itself began, “Starbucks cares more about providing paper straws to protect the environment than protecting kids and patrons on its public
WiFi!”
Though it may seem that using porn blockers has little down side, critics say the blockers inadvertently end up blocking material that has no naughty connotations.
McDonald’s, Chick Fil-A and other restaurants have already responded to public pressure and block porn from their customer WiFi.
Enough Is Enough started in 1992, when anti-porn
sentiment was particularly strong. Hughes, who became the group’s leader in 2002, was first thrust into the public spotlight in 1987 when she was seemingly the “other woman” involved
with then-presidential candidate Gary Hart. A photo of her sitting on Hart’s lap hastened the end of his candidacy.