Denver’s free Wi-Fi doesn’t grant access to all sites

Denver International Airport is blocking certain websites from its free Wi-Fi network, fearing that some customers could find the sites offensive, according to The Associated Press.  For example, The Denver Post writes that if you “want to browse Vanity Fair magazine,” then “you’ll have to buy it at the newsstand, because (Denver’s) Internet filter blocks Vanity Fair as ‘provocative.’ ” The Post says other blocked sites include celebrity gossip site perezhilton.com on and “hipster-geek favorite” boingboing.net.” The Post adds the Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit photos are also blocked, although the paper says that’s “even though the magazine’s bare-breasted cover shot is on prominent display at airport stores, right next to Penthouse and Hustler.”

Airport spokesman Chuck Cannon tells the Post the airport decided to begin using a web-filtering system provided by the Webwasher when the airport switched from fee-based Internet access to one with free access. The Post says Denver “officials preferred to deal with infrequent blocking complaints rather than angry parents whose children walked by a screen showing pornography, Cannon said.” Predictably, there are critics — including the editor of blocked site boingboing.net. “It seems particularly unfortunate that something as symbolic as the city’s airport, a gateway to culture, commerce and the flow of ideas, would be blocked in such a fundamental way,” boingboing.net’s Xeni Jardin tells the Post. “The intent is understandable, but the outcome is bad for Denver.”
http://blogs.usatoday.com/sky/2008/03/denver-web.html

This entry was posted on March 17, 2008 at 1:24 pm and is filed under WiFi, Travel, USA Today. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.