National Restaurant Chains Are Taking A Stand Against Porn

Hear the word "porn" in connection with a restaurant, and undoubtedly your mind will wander to "food porn" — that overused, all-encompassing term that describes some sort of visually enticing dish, loaded with glamorous toppings or oozing with cheese and often shared on some type of social media channel. But it turns out it's the more conventional, non-food-related definition of the word that's making waves around the nation in chain restaurants.

While fast-food chains have provided unfiltered access to WiFi for years, several companies — including Panera Bread, Subway, Chick-fil-A and Starbucks — have begun to filter the accessible content. It's somewhat reminiscent of NYC disabling free WiFi kiosks earlier this year after reports concerning individuals watching lewd material in public. According to Vice, the restaurants are all part of the rapidly growing National Porn Free WiFi campaign, which is led by advocacy groups and counts president-elect Donald Trump among its supporters.

Several hurdles remain to properly filter these free WiFi networks, which are most utilized in poor, rural and urban environments. One is to ensure that the block is limited only to graphic pornographic material and does not interfere with content on legitimate sites that might touch on sensitive subjects. There's also the prospect that making something illegal will only cause an increase in demand (sort of the opposite of the argument for legalizing certain narcotics). In any case, it's an issue that should unite both sides of the political spectrum.