According to news site Stuff.co.nz, McDonald's says it will allow access to a number of gay-related websites from its free Wi-Fi service, but is sticking by its ban of a leading gay news website, GayNZ.com, which sparked the review when it published an open letter condemning McDonald's for "censoring" the free Wi-Fi access.
The service was introduced in McDonald's 132 restaurants in December last year.
In an open letter posted by GayNZ.com on Jan 10, it sought a clarification as to why the fast food chain has an "inconsistent" policy where NZ AIDS Foundation site is not blocked but others including Family Planning, Rainbow Youth, GayNZ.com, Agender and others are blocked.
"It begins to look as though your policy is: 'any site that is open and honest about dealing with sexuality matters and lifestyles is actually about sex and is therefore undesirable.' However, there is a difference between sexuality and sex. Perhaps your censors do not understand this?"
In an update, GayNZ.com reported that McDonald's will remove blocks from the NZ Family Planning and associated www.theword.org.nz; website, Rainbow Youth, Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbian and Gay People (PFLAG) and Agender websites but not GayNZ.com.
Stuff.co.nz quoted communications manager Christine Dennis as saying: "McDonald's is struggling with some of the content, for example some of third party advertising. Some advertisements are sexually explicit and they do not meet our 'family or child friendly' criteria." The company had offered to meet with the website's editor "to explore whether there is a mutually acceptable way to move forward''.
GayNZ is a news and information site for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. It was a finalist in the "investigative journalism" section of the Qantas Media Awards last year, and was ranked the most popular Lifestyle-Gay and Lesbian site by Hitwise in its most recent survey.
Reader's Comments
Many years ago I frequent in gaymalaysia irc room, and the op just ban anything that he think is "sex", like if u type "f**k", "p***s", "c**k" etc, u will b kicked and/or banned.
Even in gay community site has this kind of "moral" control.
Another story, while I was in UAE Abu Dhabi airport on transit last week, I couldn't visit Fridae dot com using my iphone. A message said this site is blocked...
go figure.
:-P
If you want to visit sites full of cock and naked men than f' off home and do it like the rest of us.
Nazis.... get a grip! Stop being drama queens.
If it offends him than there must be something to it.
Come on fridae.com, your better than that. Get the full story before you go painting your villian.
Put it this way: "Oh, won't someone think of the children!" doesn't wash with me, as what kind of idiot thinks: "Hmmm. I think I'll sit next to that family, and go and watch some 30-second clips from Horsebangers 4 at full volume, and enjoy these chicken nuggets..."?
People will always behave badly; blocking 'adult' sites, by whatever definition (and can't edgy style/fashion sites also get blocked, as They could be seen to be unsuitable content) is a convenient way to sidestep the issue. It still won't stop Anybody from coming in with any porn etc pre-loaded on their phones, iPads, laptops or whatever.
It's really a shame if Anyone feels the need to watch Whatever in the middle of a venue like that - but they will a anyway, if they're so inclined, regardless of whether of not Mickie Ds is facilitating them.
Frankly, I'm much, much more concerned about deeply, deeply strange middle-aged men, or aggressive inner-city trash, or zombie junkies, or various other ne'er do wells that tend to haunt McDonalds and any/every urban fast food joint than someone who - shock - wants to watch porn, or check out Fridae, Grindr, Dudesnude, Gaydar, Manhunt or MyLittleButtPony.com, which I've never once considered before.
And, yes, I Did just make the last one up. :-P
One more important issue is that parents should be responsible to their underage kids. Don't blame others.
Personally I think McDonald is a family restaurant. Guys/Gays, if you are horny, please go home and use your own computer and internet. Don't spend your time surfing..... in McDonal. One hand is holding your BIG Mc. The other hand is either on the keyboard or your cock. Fuck! Does it taste good to have full mouth of Mc Burger and watching a guy having full cum inside his mouth on your computer's screen? Do you have a brain?
McDonald's is providing a "free" service at their expense. They certainly have every right to determine how that free service is accessed and utilized by consumers.
"McDonald's is providing a "free" service at their expense. They certainly have every right to determine how that free service is accessed and utilized by consumers"
Even free service, McDonal is not above the laws. Wake up #12.
Sorry that I blocked u from accessing to my Fridae's profile months ago. Sorry, I don't deal with low IQ gay.
Hey #12. Whether it allows or does not allow to access adult websites, McDonald has to look into the interests of young kids. If this issue goes to court, this is the only reason court will consider. Children protection is always the most important element for a ruling decision.
Since I have blocked u months ago, please do not follow my comment. If u do, I will not hesitate to fuck u back like here. Stupid.
shouldnt judge a person by it pic, i guess
and no, i don't think it has anything to do with the site being a gay site at all
do i agree with their decision to block access to certain site from their connection? yes i do support
it IS their network connection after all :|
of all places, why do you have to choose a public, family restaurant to access your favorite carnal site >_
Im dating a cute 22 year old from Hong Kong with a brain. That would be a major down grade.
Happy NY everyone!
Can you please block and ban #12 from accessing Fridae. Whenever I read his comments, I feel like killing somebody. Please save me from being a criminal. If you are afraid of losing one paying subscriber to you, I would be happy to pay you double as long as I don't have to see his comments here. Thank you !
#20 and 22. lol U are right. Cheers!
T
good food choices do have consequences
what does it all mean anyway?
thank god for Taco Bell, its much more healthy, plus if i want to watch porn there i can cause I am worth it
The truth is simple; McDonald's blocked some gay sites, but they blocked straight sites too - and most likely a lot more straight sites! it's not homophobia, it's just them trying to restrict what sites they don't want people to access, for which they do for the good of their own image.
What would happen if the next news headliner is "porn watchers are all heading to macdonalds"? It doesn't seem as if it's a question of sexuality at all...
And PS: Kazukicanada... you're comments are so noisy~ If you kept quiet some times, it'd be good for everyone.... :)
At first I felt sorry and allmost added him because he must be desperatly lonely but than I realised he was just crazy. So he was blacklisted and reported to fridae.
cheers
" And PS: Kazukicanada... you're comments are so noisy~ If you kept quiet some times, it'd be good for everyone.... :)"
How can u said I am noisy? Hey, Babe, this is a public forum. Is anyone force you to read? If you watch CNN, can u tell CNN u are noisy? If you go to shopping center, can you tell people to keep their mouth shut?
My advice to u is keep your eye shut. Don't read any comments, I am sure u will keep your mind quiet. Don't u learn the manner living in Asia for so many years?
It is important to THINK before u TALK. Good face does not tell how smart u are.
I believe you have no ground to ask anyone to shut up here since it is a public forum and moreover FRIDAE does not FORCE u to spend your quality time to READ something that U don't want to read. Thanks for reading my message. You should punish your eyes.
Do I make sense to you now? Babe lol. Just a common sense will make u think before u post this message to me. Hope u learn your lesson this time how to behave and respect in public forum. My friend wanna u to know, if you go to McDonald and asking people not to eat, what is the difference u are asking me to stop type my comment in a public forum? lol Time to go back to School again.
Wed, January 12, 2011 11:34:33 PMIncident No: 0004786460
From: Customer Services - Web Site Add to Contacts
To: "kazuki>>>@yahoo.com" >>@yahoo.ca>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Kazuki,
Thank you for contacting McDonald's New Zealand regarding your concerns about accessing certain websites via our Free WiFi service.
McDonald's is a family restaurant chain, and as part of offering our new Free WiFi service, our policy is that viewed website content must be of a family friendly nature. This means it must be suitable for a child to view, and that a child cannot access a website where they can click on any content, link or third party advertisement and access sexually explicit content and images.
McDonald's would like to stress that we will actively discriminate against access to all sexually explicit and pornographic material in our restaurants.
In order to help protect children in our restaurants, McDonald's has an external content filtering software programme in place where certain types of online content, including gambling websites, tobacco websites and adult mature content websites are blocked.
Because we are in the early stages of offering this new Free WiFi service, we may encounter some issues with the filtering system. We have asked customers to contact us if they believe a site has been unjustifiably blocked. We will then review the content on a case by case basis and decide whether all information on that site, including advertisements and links to third party sites, is family friendly. If it meets this criteria, then we will commit to unblocking that particular site.
We have had a number of customers contact us directly regarding specific websites that they believe should be unblocked. As of the 11th of January we have committed to unblocking the following websites: NZ Family Planning, Rainbow Youth, The Word, PFLAG and Agender.
We are currently still working through our review of GayNZ.com, as there is some content on this site that we are not entirely comfortable with, particularly with regard to third party advertising which we believe is sexually explicit. We have contacted GayNZ.com in order to help find a mutually acceptable solution, if possible.
We hope this helps answer your questions and we thank you again for taking the time to contact us.
Yours sincerely,
Melissa Williams
Customer Service
this Channel-Founder / SYS-OP at "gaymalaysia" IRC channel was an US-American who is not even gay. He was just a Psychopath.
His nick was/is "Bairen".
oh really ? well, until those providers BLOCK such content too.
because: they are the providers and have every right to BLABLABLA &%()=)$§(/)=$%
They actually already do block (manjam f.e. is blocked by many Malaysian providers).
I can't believe to read such a load of rubbish written by fellow gays.
such people like you make it easy for the haters and extremists to fight the gay community
Ditto for KFC, BK, Carl's Jnr...avoid those places like the plague and I swear, yr skin will be 10x clearer + yr waistline will decrease by at least 2 sizes!!! And oh, add to that the pleasure of escaping their censorship...what have you got to lose?
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