Starbucks, a newcomer to the National Porn Free WiFi campaign, is cognizant of this dilemma. "Once we determine our customers can access our free WiFi in a way that also doesn't involuntarily block unintended content, we will implement [filters] in our stores," says Maggie Jantzen, a spokesperson for the company. Instead of straight up filtering sites, Starbucks is blocking specific URLs it deems explicit.
But even that is problematic, considering what is explicit is often hard to define. "Porn is in the eye of the beholder," says Jas Chana, communications director at the National Coalition Against Censorship. "What is considered porn to one is considered art to another. It's not for one person to say, and a subjective viewpoint should not be considered unconstitutional."
Advocates within the National Porn Free WiFi campaign are quick to point out that it is totally legal for companies like Starbucks to restrict access to their free internet in anyway they see fit. "These are private businesses making internet policy decisions," says NCOSE executive director Dawn Hawkins. "McDonald's doesn't put pornography on its menu, so they don't owe pornography services to their customers."
Porn fans across the country understand this, but they still view the blocking of content as an issue of corporate censorship. "Having your morality dictated to you is never a good thing," says Captainloverman, a Reddit user since 2009 who frequents threads on the topic of viewing erotica in public. "I wouldn't watch porn in Starbucks, but I resent the idea that someone else has taken the choice from me."
"What is considered porn to one is considered art to another. It's not for one person to say, and a subjective viewpoint should not be considered unconstitutional."—Jas Chana of the National Coalition Against Censorship
The rise in support around the National Porn Free WiFi campaign has arrived at a time when the Republican Party has declared pornography a "public health crisis." Similar to bans on indoor smoking, Hawkins thinks that businesses are promoting the health and well-being of their clientele by banning porn.
Of course, not everyone agrees with this sentiment. An estimated 40 million Americans consider themselves regular visitors to porn sites. "The idea of porn as a 'public health crisis' isn't based in science, but rather rooted in religious and moral ideologies," says Mike Stabile, communications director of the Free Speech Coalition. "We've found that the anxiety around the access to adult material often goes hand-in-hand with the same organizations concerns about women's sexuality and sexual education and LGBTQ rights. In fact, what we've seen from studies is that viewers of adult content are more likely to be feminist, more likely to treat their partners as equals, and more likely to a have positive attitude toward sexuality. And one thing that has been consistent over years of increasing access to adult material is that it corresponds to dramatic decreases in sex crimes."
Not to mention, the internet filters being pushed by the National Porn Free WiFi campaign might actually inspire more people to look at porn. According to data from the Porn Phenomenon, 29 percent of adults "seek out" pornography on at least a monthly basis; but for those who use a filter, it's a whopping 39 percent.
At the end of the day, no reasonable person thinks that people should be watching hardcore butt sex videos in fast-food joints. But it'd be a shame if a rare occurrence like that made it so that a student couldn't couldn't Google image search Michelangelo's David. As this debate continues, it will be interesting to see which fast food chain will be the next to take the porn-free WiFi pledge. According to EIE, Burger King is on the National Porn Free WiFi campaign's radar.
So much for having it your way.
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