FC: Burger King gives away CD-ROM with lists of thousands of porn sites

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

********

> 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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