A recent research project by AdaptiveMobile, concluded that over one third of all the UK’s Cafes and restaurants had no content filtering in place, meaning that visitors logging on could easily use or stumble across adult content online.
This is a particularly hot topic, and one that any business providing a WiFi hotspot should be aware of, due to the government’s recent indication that new laws, or at the very least, a code of conduct, is on the horizon.
In April this year I blogged about David Cameron’s speech regarding the need to provide ‘Good, Clean WiFi’ in public places’. The Prime Minister told the Telegraph that he wanted the WiFi provided in public spaces to give parents confidence that their children couldn’t access illicit websites on smart phones or mobile computers.
This came after a children’s charities coalition on internet safety ran a campaign aimed at the UK’s biggest internet providers, demanding urgent action to create a blanket ban on unacceptable sites on public WiFi networks.
This latest survey illustrates the scale of the problem facing both those accessing and providing public wifi hotspots. Adult material was found to be accessible at more than half of all free, public WiFi networks in the UK. And the survey also found that drug- and violence-related websites, including ILoveCocaine.com, were accessible in 80 per cent of sites surveyed.
With the proliferation of public wifi hotspots in recent years showing no sign of abating, and with government focus on the issue, all those providing a public wifi hotspot must consider the need for content filtered internet access, such as that available from Purple WiFi.