Is CrossCountry Trains blocking access to gay sites discriminatory?
62
Posts: 295 Forum Member
✭
The only reference to blocking sites in their wifi T&C's is:
That gives no reasonable person grounds to believe that they will be denied access to perfectly legitimate gay lifestyle sites.
Am I therefore justified in asking for my money back?
That CrossCountry may block access to certain websites by you on the Hotspot, including for example certain high bandwidth websites, in order to share bandwidth more amongst its User group.
That gives no reasonable person grounds to believe that they will be denied access to perfectly legitimate gay lifestyle sites.
Am I therefore justified in asking for my money back?
0
Comments
Incidentally I was able to access Fitlads, which arguably carries far more adult material, with no problem whatsoever! :rolleyes
So could their attitude be construed as discriminatory?
I would say that because they block one site and not another that it is not discriminatory. Obviously they feel the need to switch on a filter to block what they deem as porn sites but it's very very unlikely that they are deliberately targeting gay websites no matter what the content is.
In many cases they won't even be the ones configuring the filter, they'll buy it in from a company who makes the software and it will come with preset categories, which may include the site you want to visit (even if you don't think it is porn). They just enable the blocking on the categories they want and that's that.
Throwing the discrimination card around doesn't get you anywhere.
Try seeing if the equivalent straight sexual site is blocked. I bet it is.
PJ
If the website mentioned was purely text based then it would be discriminatory to block it - someone reading the text on your screen is bringing it on themselves by prying. However if there are any 'provocative' images (which needn't include nudity) which can easily be seen and recognised without deliberate prying then that would IMHO be a good reason to block it. Similarly websites with provocative images of Women.
Other customers would have a good reason to complain to the company - if someone was reading an explicit magazine in full view of other passengers and one person complained then the staff would be compelled to ask them to put it away. Just because the company can block the website from being accessed in the first place why is this any different?
Likewise, I would think that any 'reasonable person' would understand why websites, rightly or wrongly, classed as pornographic are blocked on a public hot spot.
At worst their classification of the site is wrong.
Just like literally every company out there who provide public wifi hotspots.
But was the site it was hosted on also hosting images? Sites are blocked as a whole, not individual pages.
Just tried Googling 'JSA Online', a government website, in Wigan Library only to get the following message: These network managers must have filthy minds if they see pornography everywhere they look!
I despair!! :rolleyes:
As another poster has said, Virgin (or their advisory company) may block this if there is a risk that a third party may find matrial offensive.
That, of course is a subjective call.
However, in the interest of research I have visited the site. The opening page says.
Terms and Conditions Of Use - Please Read - Some content may cause offence"
"this is a live, free-to-post message board and some comments posted by members may be adult in nature and/or cause offence."
However if their own website asks you to agreed to these then it is understandable that a company like Virgin would tread carefully.
Gay, straight - whatever - they will be looking to protect themselves. To them it is just a website - nothing discriminatory.
Well ask them to fix it!
And the Cross Country Trains thing you quoted from their T&Cs just gives a "for example". For examples aren't exhaustive.
No unfair discrimination in anything you've mentioned so far from what I can see, an error or two at most I'd say.
indeed. anything that happens to someone that isn't a white straight male is automatically discrimination.
The terms and conditions clearly state "certain sites" which is a pretty broad term but would obviously include ANY site with adult content.
They have already stated in their reply; they will ask whether the site has been wrongly catagorised....
I fail to see the problem with that.
Why? If they don't like it they can always move. We regularly used to buy gay porno mags and gay dolls to get a compartment all to ourselves in the old days of train travel.
It would be great if they did gay only buses and trains.
As great as it would be if they had straight only buses, trains and hotels?
if someone suggested straight only buses there would be an uproar!
In London they had bendy buses but swapped them for straight one's.:D:D:D:o:o