Surely many people agree that nothing goes with a Big Mac like some grade-A internet porn. McDonald’s, however, is not cool with this happening on its free Wi-Fi. As a result, customers hoping to watch any on their laptops inside stores will now find that they’ve been thwarted by a filter. The move comes two years after an advocacy group first began pressuring the chain to block family-unfriendly websites. The head of that group, called Enough Is Enough, praised the company’s decision yesterday in a foxnews.com piece, saying, “Parents now can have peace of mind … when they or their children go to McDonald’s.”
That outfit is one of several porn-free-internet groups urging fast-food companies to install filters (others include the American Family Association, the nonprofit behind One Million Moms). “We discovered that corporate America is not aware of how some people use their free Wi-Fi,” its CEO explains to the Post. Chains like Panera and Chick-fil-A already block adult content, but their movement hasn’t had tons of luck elsewhere. They hit Subway below the belt last year by sending an open letter mid–Jared Fogle scandal that said the sandwich chain’s Wi-Fi lets visitors “view illegal child pornography and even seek opportunities to sexually exploit children or teens.” Subway never responded (but insisted yesterday to the Post that stores do, in fact, have some kind of filter). So far, Starbucks hasn’t bothered to respond either.
