Porn on a plane: Flight attendants want filters
Coffee, tea, or porn? "I don't think so," say American Airline flight attendants.
Leaders of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, which represents some 19,000 workers including American Airlines flight attendants, asked American Airline's management this week to consider adding filters to its in-flight Wi-Fi access to prevent passengers from viewing porn and other inappropriate Web sites while in-flight.
A union representative told Bloomberg News that attendants and passengers have raised "a lot of complaints" over the issue.
(Credit:
American Airlines)
American Airlines is one of several airlines testing in-flight Internet access as a way to lure more passengers. American has been offering the service on a limited basis since August 20th on some flights between New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, and between New York and Miami. The cost of the service on cross-country flights is $12.95, and it's $9.95 on the New York to Miami route.
The current program is in a 3- to 6-month trial period, and the airline plans to review usage and feedback on the service at the end of that period, an American Airlines spokesman told Bloomberg.
The controversy has stirred up an ongoing debate about whether Internet access in public places should be restricted. Earlier this year, the Denver International Airport took a lot flack for blocking access on its free Wi-Fi network to Web sites that officials deemed offensive.
The argument was made by Denver airport officials that users must abide by their rules because they are providing the service for free. But that case is harder to make for in-flight passengers, who are paying for Internet access.
Given that people are packed onto planes literally elbow to elbow, it's often hard not to at least glance at the laptop screen of the person sitting next to you. But airlines have not banned people from reading pornographic magazines or watching their own DVDs on flights. And it's just as easy for someone to view a DVD of an adult video on a laptop or flip through Hustler as it is to surf porn Web sites.
The truth is that it hasn't been a major problem on flights thus far. In fact, American Airline's spokesman Tim Smith told Bloomberg that the "vast majority" of customers already use good judgment in what's appropriate to look at while flying versus what's not.
And he added, "Customers viewing inappropriate material on board a flight is not a new scenario for our crews, who have always managed this issue with great success."
What do you think? Should airlines filter Internet access at 20,000 feet? Or should they just stay out of the censoring debate?
Marguerite Reardon has been a CNET News reporter since 2004, covering cell phone services, broadband, citywide Wi-Fi, the Net neutrality debate, as well as the ongoing consolidation of the phone companies. E-mail Maggie. 
Well, here's a thought: how about we replace the galleys with vending machines that sell drinks, blankets and pillows to passengers, and replace the flight attendants with one person tasked with maintaining the safety of passengers...but not for busing, serving, or preparing meals or drinks?
I mean, really, I could do without flight attendants entirely, since customer service is always low on their agenda anyway...
OTOH, forget the flight attendants - the last thing I want to put up with while jammed onto an airplane for x amount of hours is the schmuck next to me cruising for pr0n... and I don't even have kids.
The bigger and real issue here is that you are allowing a corporation to decide what you can see or can't see. This has massive civic liberty issues as whom are they to decide what is offensive or inappropriate. They might decide that an article about how bad their service is inappropriate and thus block it. Once you start down the path of censorship it can become very hard to determine an unbiased view of the world. Just look at any dictatorship through out history of which censorship and propaganda are the backbone of how they retain power.
All these risks just because 1 passenger in a million might look at porn and have a flight attendant have to ask them not to. Get real.
I hardly would call putting a filter up a step up towards violating one's civic liberties. You're paying for permission to use their online service while you're on their aircraft. Not to mention this is a private corporation you're talking about, not a public one. I would think that once they do put a filter up there would be a big asterisk on their offer saying that objectionable content would be filtered - so you get what you pay for. Of course no filter is perfect - but of course corporations which rely on customer service such as airliners wouldn't go as gung-ho as severely limiting internet access. And I'm guessing the majority of people who buy internet access are business users who want a constant check on their email and corporate websites for which I think they would be safe from the airliners blocking objectionable content besides pornography. Calling it a "massive" civic liberty issue is going a bit for the drama isn't it? Give me a break.
It's about picking your battles, and going paranoid about "the man" looking over your shoulder while you're surfing the web for a few hours on an airplane, is a stupid battle to pick.
What an @-hole you are.
You must be CHINESE bc u certainly have no problem against unlawful and unconstitutional censorship
Personally, I think the real problem is that the aging hags that pass as flight attendants don't like being reminded of their rapidly failing looks.
Use your head FFS...
Attempts to replace fuel expenses by cutting back on food rather limits much of the "service" provided.
Expatinbangkok
There is a level of decorum we should all agree upon and sexual acts are considered private and personal, just as bathroom activities are considered private. This is why there are doors on the bathrooms on flights. People should not be having sex on planes or in public places because it is not just offensive to some, but it's intrusive. Have any of these exhibitionists thought that maybe people don't have time to be distracted by their selfishness? Also, there could be young children on the flight who could view the material.
I offer that as a suggestion because I don't think I've ever been on a flight without children among the passengers. Anyone viewing the above-described content on their computer screen could also be exposing children seated in the vicinity to seeing it.
That could rapidly turn into a legal issue for the airline and also for the person whose computer the porn is being viewed on.
It could also turn into a labor-related issue for the airline for the same reason that people in most workplaces aren't allowed to post X-rated pictures in their cubicle. Only in this case, it's the airline employees voicing an objection to being exposed to the X-rated content that a passenger, rather than a coworker, is putting on display. It's still their workplace and if they don't want to see that content, they still have the right to say so.
I believe that the airlines that allow for in-flight internet will end up blocking the same adult-content sites that many workplaces also block. It's just easier on the airlines to do so, for a long list of reasons.
Screen privacy/glare filters will prevent PAX sitting next to you and walking down the aisles from seeing your private corporate data and e-mail and it would solve this problem as well.
Sheesh, it's not like there are no other restrictions on airplanes! This one is minor, and only affects a small portion of passengers who are enjoying a privilege they didn't have a few months ago. Compared to the other restrictions on flights and cost of owning a laptop, this one is minor. I wish airlines would provide headphones gratis also, but at least the screen filter can be purchased and re-used, vs. "renting" the headphones.
Screen privacy/glare filters will prevent PAX sitting next to you and walking down the aisles from seeing your private corporate data and e-mail and it would solve this problem as well.
Seriously, if I could choose, I wouldn't pay for filtered Internet access. However, if that is the only Internet Access available and I am bored out of my skull, I'd probably still buy it...
Why does it matter if the government regulates this as opposed to the airlines? Are you insinuating that only corporations should be allowed to control our actions??? Let us look at an intersting side effect of your idea. First, only certain planes will block the content, leading to the creating of pornographic travel. Lets say the cheapest/only way for you to get to a certain place is through this smut plane, and your forced to endure this behavior, would you like it? I doubt it. Atleast with government action there is uniformity.
Come on people, take responsibility for yourselves and stop holding others responsible for you.
Sorry kid, but them's some rather cramped quarters in that there airplane.
I got a better idea - how about whoever is dumb enough to surf porn on a flight show some common courtesy and shut the fscking thing off?
Stop "watching" what your kids do and take control of them. I hate parents like you who think it's so cute to watch their little brat bastards running around kicking and making all kinds of noise.
* airlines often have this idiotic habit of seating kids in another row.
In coach you are practically sitting in eachothers laps. You could have the best behaved child in the world and if your son or daughter lifts their head at all to look straight foward they will catch a glimpse of whatever is on the laptop next to them in their periphery. I would not want my son seeing killing, sex, or anything like that, but unfortunately to get to some places we need to fly. I don't think banning any type of media whether it's sex or religous is a good idea but the screen filter is a great solution that would eliminate anyone but the laptop user from viewing the screen.
I take great resposibility for my actions and for my son's. I can't keep my son in a bubble forever but please show some respect for parents, kids, and childrens innocence. They will be exposed to the garbage in this world soon enough. No need to accelerate or encourage the process.
it's ok to watch a movie where someone's head get chop off with a sword or blown away with a gun but not ok to see people making out?
there's a public decency law.
and most adult can police themselves just fine.
the only people who would likely to surf porn on the plane or public place are underage kids which they shouldn't have access to the internet the first place without parental supervision.
if they actually banned this, the wi-fi service won't fly (no punt intended). :-)
what's next?
if a person wants to read about "sexual transmitted disease" and that get banned too?
afterall, it has the word SEX in there and the filter won't allow it to go thru.
how about if a person wants to read a movie review about, "SEX AND THE CITY".
get banned too?
give me a break!!!
that's about it.
I can go buy ammo at the store, but because I bought it, does that give me the automatic right to pop holes in my neighbors house?
Nope.
Grow up.
My school filtered Porn and facebook.com from the internet - by the time i left there was not a single CHILD in that school who did not know how to log on to a proxy site (or some other circumvention) to use Facebook.
If a filter is implemented there is a good chance that if people are even only slightly computer literate could look at whatever they wanted, in my opinion the type of people who end up watching porn on planes will probably be used to getting past filters implemented at their workplace or ispend a short ammount of time searching "Proxy site" on google.
Internet filtering never really works evan when thoroughly implemented on systems such as Saudi's, Qatar's or China's Interent (Believe me, I've lived in the Mid East) - Its just a gesture, an attempt at creating a certain image that the organisation is doing 'something' about it, or confirming their disapproval.
Happy Flying
- by kpj2 September 12, 2008 11:26 PM PDT
- Given that standards for (video) content on airlines have been in existence since video entertainment on airplanes has been offered, and given that they were conceived to accommodate the sensitivity of carrying a diverse population within a highly confined space, why waste time on a new paradigm? If you don't filter, you eviscerate the existing standard. Of course, content that's already deemed unsuitable for that environment should be filtered. This is not a hard question and the price issue is irrelevant.
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- by mullendarrell September 14, 2008 5:58 PM PDT
- Too bad they cannot filter it completely. Those of us with higher intelligence than the majority of the population have the ultimate power. You see, we know how to view porn sites even if the airlines filter it. The filter only gives the public a sense of security. We know how to break it, and they (the government) simply CANNOT stop ALL of us. So get over yourself and stop staring at the porn if it offends you!!
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- by csUser September 15, 2008 1:10 PM PDT
- kpj2 - the standards for video content on airlines has been content that the Airline has been responsible for selecting. I love some pornography, but I would be a little offended if "*** ***** 3" started playing while I was traveling with my mother. However, if I have a pocket DVD player, the airline can do nothing about it.
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Showing 1 of 6 pages (166 Comments)The issue here is whether or not the sites you visit can be deemed "delivered" by the airline. If you say the airline delivered it, then the airline is responsible for filtering. If you say the airline (like almost every other ISP anywhere) is not delivering the webpage, just providing the means to do it, then the airline should not be responsible for filtering.
If they do filter, it's their perrogative. That's like trying to force M&M's to add more chocolate to their peanut M&Ms. They sell the product to you - if you dislike that product, or some aspect of it, then you are more than welcome to not buy it.
I support which ever decision the airline chooses - if you don't like it, don't buy it.
PS - Anyone looking at blatant pornography on a plane is either a freak or a loser. Use your imagination and the image of that 12 yr old sitting next to you.