Politech mailing list archives
FC: Burger King gives away CD-ROM with lists of thousands of porn sites
From: Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>
Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2000 10:40:07 -0400
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From: Paul McMasters <Pmcmasters () freedomforum org> To: "Declan McCullagh (E-mail)" <declan () well com> Cc: Adam Powell <apowell () freedomforum org> Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2000 08:27:26 -0400 Declan, Adam Powell may have sent you this already. He is in London for some meetings and pulled this story down from the front page of the computer section ("Connected") of today's (Thursday's) UK Telegraph. As he puts it, "the heart-warming account of Burger King giving out NetNanny porn filtering disks, which actually... well, read on, dear reader, read on... ." -pkm -- Burger King gives away porn addresses By Jonathan Lambeth BURGER KING has been forced to withdraw a CD-Rom given away with children's meals this week after complaints that the disc contained internet addresses for more than 2,000 pornographic websites. The restaurant chain, which has 630 stores in the UK, acted after customers complained that their children could have easily accessed the addresses, which include sex-related internet discussion groups and hardcore pornographic websites. More than one million CDs had been given away before the promotion was pulled on Monday, according to Burger King. Anyone purchasing a children's meal since the offer began more than two weeks ago would have received a CD supplied to Burger King by the internet service provider KZuk.net, which offers secure internet usage for children. The CD includes software called Net Nanny, designed to provide parents with a filtering mechanism to block certain websites. Unfortunately, once installed from the CD, it only takes a couple of mouse clicks to view the global list of pornographic web addresses. The software is extremely easy to install, particularly given that many teenagers understand their PC better than their parents. The disc does include a warning in the small print saying that it must be installed by persons of 18 years or over, despite featuring a photo of teen pop star Louise, whose new single is on the CD. Steve McLean, a spokesman for Net Nanny, the American company that makes and sells the software of the same name, was shocked to hear about the free CD offer from Burger King, which he had not been aware of. He said Net Nanny had signed a deal only with KZuk.net for a CD that would be sent to adults to install for their children. He said: "This news has dismayed us terribly. We would not sign a promotional deal for our product that would be marketed to children." The reason that the website list is available to view, he said, is so that adult users can make a free choice about which sites they choose to block. Burger King executives refused to discuss the issue, instead releasing a prepared statement. It said that the company believed the instructions clearly stated that the software should be controlled by someone over 18 and was password protected.
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- FC: Burger King gives away CD-ROM with lists of thousands of porn sites Declan McCullagh (Jun 22)