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RetailThe 21st Century Corporation

McDonald’s Just Made Surfing for Porn Harder

Phil Wahba
By
Phil Wahba
Phil Wahba
Senior Writer
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Phil Wahba
By
Phil Wahba
Phil Wahba
Senior Writer
Down Arrow Button Icon
July 15, 2016, 12:03 PM ET
Apple Pay launches in the U.K.
A sign for the launch of the Apple pay system, from Apple.Inc is seen displayed at the entrance to a McDonald's Corp. restaurant in London, U.K., on Tuesday, July 14, 2015. Apple Inc. is making the U.K. the first market outside the U.S. for its digital-wallet system as the company fights for a place in the electronic-payments industry. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesPhotograph by Chris Ratcliffe — Bloomberg via Getty Images

If you want to watch porn while enjoying a Big Mac, you now have to use your own data plan.

McDonald’s (MCD) recently changed its free WiFi access to prevent customers from watching pornography on their smartphones and other devices, following years of pressure from internet safety advocacy group Enough is a Enough.

“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 in an e-mailed statement. The company has previously said it wasn’t aware of any pornography related incidents in its stores. (Last year, Target investigated an incident at one of its California stores when pornographic audio was heard over the loudspeakers, causing the retailer much embarrassment.)

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,” said EIE President Donna Rice Hughes. EIE said McDonald’s new policy is similar to that of rivals like Chick-fil-A and Panera Bread (PNRA).

Retailers and restaurants like McDonald’s and Starbucks (SBUX) offer customers free WiFi as a way to increase customer traffic and also help them shop while in a store or restaurant.

 

About the Author
Phil Wahba
By Phil WahbaSenior Writer
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Phil Wahba is a senior writer at Fortune primarily focused on leadership coverage, with a prior focus on retail.

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