Starbucks will finally block customers from watching porn on its Wi-Fi

After years of complaints, Starbucks will finally be launching a content blocking tool to prevent customers from watching pornography on their Wi-Fi. Photo / 123RF

After years of complaints, Starbucks will finally be launching a content blocking tool to prevent customers from watching pornography on its Wi-Fi.

Even though watching porn in its stores is banned, the chain doesn't have content blockers in its Wi-Fi service, the Business Insider reports.

The popular coffee store plans to roll out the change in 2019 - nearly three years after promising to do so and long after other food chains including McDonald's and Subway made the move.

"To ensure the Third Place remains safe and welcoming to all, we have identified a solution to prevent this content from being viewed within our stores and we will begin introducing it to our US locations in 2019," a Starbucks representative told Business Insider.

The company has tested multiple tools but has not revealed any more details on the blocker it will use.

For many years advocacy groups have pressured Starbucks to block explicit content on its Wi-Fi service.

Earlier this week, a petition from the group Enough is Enough called out the chain to filter pornography, receiving more than 26,000 signatures.

"Apparently, Starbucks cares more about providing paper straws to protect the environment than protecting kids and patrons on its public Wi-Fi," Enough is Enough wrote in the petition.

"By breaking its commitment Starbucks is keeping the doors wide open for convicted sex offenders and patrons to fly under the radar from law enforcement and use free, public WiFi services to view or distribute graphics or obscene pornography, child pornography [an illegal crime], or engage in sexual predation activity.

"EIE is once again calling on all concerned to sign our new petition calling on Starbucks to follow through on its promise to filter."

The Herald is awaiting comment from Starbucks NZ, but assumes the same policy applies here.