Comments on: Denver airport censors free Wi-Fi network

The Denver International Airport has blocked certain sites it deems "provocative" on its free Wi-Fi service.

[Lee in San Diego]

Who is making the decisions...

Who is making the decisions Anthony Comstock? If they can filter
out what they consider racy content then they can filter sites that
go against the censor's political ideology.

[WillSimpson62]

Their Business, Their Right- Fine for Them

It's a private business, they can set whatever rules they want. I'd
rather have restricted free content than anything for ten bucks an
hour like most air ports.

Besides, I think that it's probably healthy to block porn, even if the
occasional gossip site gets caught in the mix, in the interests of
children using the network.

[PzkwVIb]

Fine then

As a parent you block it.

Besides that, Denver Airport gets substantial public money so they are not a public business, and therefore have no right to engage in any blocking that could infringe on first ammendment rights.

[gwdancer]

Exactly! Whether it is a good idea or not, it is their business, so they have the right to block away. And, yes, it is fine if they censor for political preferences as well - it is not a public forum, it is a private enterprise.

[cameronjpu]

Evil blocking technology...

"The airport is supposedly using the same technology that's used by the governments of Sudan and Kuwait to repress free speech."

Oooooohhhhh, it must be REALLY evil then!

I bet its the same technology the Red Cross and the little sisters of the poor use to block access to porn sites on their networks too.

I hate it when writers use rhetorical devices like that, it smacks of a bad writer.

[michaelcurrey]

just for that i'm gonna start reading playboy at the gate!

that's so dumb! would they try to kick me out if i used my own wirless modem to go to playboy.com? what if i bought a porm mag at the bookstore in the airport and started reading it?

you give someone power and they'll use it.

[cameronjpu]

I dare ya

I dare you to buy a penthouse and go to a public place and read it in such a way that it is easily seen by children. Let me know how it goes. I'll check back here in 31 days to see how you enjoyed your vacation.

[Lee in San Diego]

They don't sell porn at the airport shops

They may sell Playboy or similar magazines, but you won't find
porn in those shops. Of course if you the kind of person who
wants to put a blouse on the Venus de Milo or a pair or Dockers on
Michaelangelo's David then you probably think that the women's
underwear ads in the junk mail is porn.

[Wookiee-1138]

Airport wifi is kind of risky anyway.

I'd stick with a tethered connection.

[smcarter]

Those that pay, have the say

My thought is that if the Denver Airport is paying for the access,
they should have every right to decide the content that they want to
make available. On the other hand, I would strongly object to my
cable provider doing the same thing, since I pay them for
unfettered access.

Also, I'm not sure how happy I would be to have dozens of laptops
playing videos from porn sited in front of my 3-year old.

[Lee in San Diego]

Do we not

Do we not pay landing fees at airports? Is Denver Airport a private
business owned by an individual or is a public a facility payed for in
part with taxes?

[Dalkorian]

torn

I see both sides of the argument. Taking your kids to the airport
shouldn't expose them to hard core bondage pornography, but
on the other hand what kind of porn is on Sports Illustrated's
swimsuit site, or boingboing?

It is free access controlled by the airport, but the airport does
take quite a bit of tax money making it a public entity of sorts.

I guess I would have fewer problems with it if it was just the
hard core stuff, people shouldn't be watching that in public
anyway. But some of the sites they chose seem odd - like they're
trying to drive up revenue on the news stand or something.

[H756]

Free me

I saw this story on larryflynt.com just glad I was not in the Denver airport. The funny thing is you can still buy Hustler in the airport, you just can?t look on your computer. What are they so afraid of?

[pherox]

If Hustler is available, then so should be everything else. Blocking out news or SI because some moron thinks the content is smut but allowing the sale of porn mags is purely contradictory and is entirely based on profits.

Furthermore, if you have children, then you should be minding them, especially in such a large [and potentially dangerous] place as an airport. As a parent, it is your job to take care of them and steer them away from things you happen to think are inappropriate...not bar others from accessing that content. You should be keeping a close eye, and hand if need be, on your little brood to make sure they aren't in others' business.

Personally, I wouldn't be checking out porn in an airport. I find it to be in poor taste and tact, but to coming across a NSFW article is not all too rare, and that shouldn't be blocked. I also imagine that someone who would choose to view such content would set themselves aside from the large crowds and children. Spare the lectures of moral-bankruptcy of those who view porn, it isn't necessary.

[arobin64]

I want All prongraphy removed from public places. There is no reason at all that anyone needs to veiw prongraphy anywhere but in the privacy of their own home where it does not affedt anyone around them. Sexual acts or profanity is not allowed in public so why would one thing prongraphy is ok? This stuff is getting way out of hand, and if I find out that there is an airlines that allows porn on its flights I will not only boycott it I will tell everyone I know every chance I get who does this and who does not...

[gatormcleod]

So tell me "arobin64", just what is pornography? A Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, a bare breasted centerfold in Playboy, a beaver-baring babe in Husltler? Or is the definition of pornography just what YOU decide it is based on the less than objective criteria of being what offends you personally. Spare us your boycott nonsense. Most people exhibit quite reasonable behaviour in public and we certainly don't need you and your Anthony Comstock road show.

[unquenchablefire]

Well, for anyone interested, DIA no longer censors their wifi, or if they do, they censor veeeery sparsely. I'm in the airport right now, and i checked if 4chan's /b/ was blocked - for science. It wasn't. If there's a site worth blocking, its that one. And i haven't hit any blocked sites ever in Denver airport.

[carnut1420]

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