Mon 10 Jan 2011 In: New Zealand Daily News View at Wayback View at NDHA
The Rainbow Youth drop-in centre Rainbow Youth will approach McDonald's to address the issue of access to its website at restaurants offering free WiFi, saying there is nothing on it that is inappropriate for youth to access. The GLBT youth support group's site is among those blocked by the content filtering technology of the fast food giant's provider, TelstraClear. McDonald's says it's a family restaurant chain, and as part of offering the new Free WiFi service, its policy is that viewed content must be of a family friendly nature. However it is promising to review any sites customers or impacted groups ask it to. Rainbow Youth Executive Director Tom Hamilton will be in touch with McDonalds, saying having safe and informative resources available to young people is essential when it comes to supporting the needs of trans and queer youth, or any young people questioning their sexuality or gender identity. "All young people have a right to information about their personal identity and access to being informed about other cultures such as the queer and trans community," Hamilton says. "In no way would the Rainbow Youth website be inappropriate for a young person to access at any McDonald's restaurant." GayNZ.com is also among the blocked sites and has written to McDonald's asking for this to be reviewed.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Monday, 10th January 2011 - 3:50pm