May 1, 2015

WISN TV News -Businesses' unfiltered Wi-Fi means kids can access inappropriate material
 

 Last week, Donna Rice Hughes did a TV interview with Milwalkee's WISN 12 News station who joined Enough Is Enough® in its efforts and pressed Starbucks and McDonald's for a response:

 

"WISN 12 News reporter Kent Wainscott went to an area McDonald's to check it out.


Wainscott didn't access any inappropriate websites, but simply searched and turned up the same links that any teen could access from pornography to sites selling synthetic drugs to even a site police say is used for human trafficking."  

 
TV reporter's screenshot of content at viewed McDonald's.

 

"Can you imagine, mom brings her four kids in to get a Happy Meal, and there's a man sitting next to them looking at very hard-core extreme material? That's not good for anyone," Hughes said.

 

"It's been in the last year where this particular group, Enough is Enough has been more and more vocal," Marquette University professor Scott D'Urso said.

 

D'Urso said the group is turning up the heat on those big name companies, forcing them to weigh the service they provide their customers against a very public call for change.

 

WISN 12 News reached out to both McDonald's and Starbucks, and both said they will continue to offer free and unfiltered Wi-Fi.

 

Neither Starbucks nor McDonalds' answered WISN 12 News' specific questions, but they did issue statements.

A Starbucks spokesman said, "While we don't have a specific enterprise-wide, global policy on what customers can and cannot access on our free in-store Wi-Fi, we do reserve the right to stop any behavior that interferes with our customer experience."

 

McDonald's said, "We are always open to continuous improvement and will take the issues raised under advisement. McDonald's and our independent owner-operators share a commitment to providing a safe environment for our customers." Watch the TV interview here.