After years of pressure, Starbucks says it has found a way to prevent customers from watching porn in its stores. 
 
 Next year, the coffee giant plans to introduce a new tool meant to prevent customers from viewing pornography or other explicit content in stores. While watching pornography is banned at Starbucks locations, the chain does not have content blockers on its Wi-Fi service. 
 
 "To ensure the Third Place remains safe and welcoming to all, we have identified a solution to prevent this content from being viewed within our stores and we will begin introducing it to our US locations in 2019," a Starbucks representative told Business Insider in an email on Wednesday. 
 
 Starbucks declined to give details on the solution but said the company tested multiple tools, hoping to avoid accidentally blocking unoffensive sites. 
 
 The rollout comes after years of pressure from the internet-safety organization Enough Is Enough. 
 
 A petition from Enough Is Enough calling for Starbucks to filter pornography was signed by more than 26,000 people as of Wednesday. Earlier this week, Enough Is Enough CEO Donna Rice Hughes attacked Starbucks for not following through on a commitment it made in 2016 to block explicit websites. 
 
 Read more: Starbucks will put an end to an unexpected consequence of offering free Wi-Fi 
 
 "By breaking its commitment, Starbucks is keeping the doors wide open for convicted sex offenders and others to fly under the radar from law enforcement and use free, public Wi-Fi services to access illegal child porn and hard-core pornography," Hughes said in a statement. 
 
 "Having unfiltered hotspots also allows children and teens to easily bypass filters and other parental control tools set up by their parents on their smart phones, tablets, and laptops," Hughes continued. 
 
 While Hughes told Business Insider she was "thrilled" that Starbucks said it was rolling out a solution, she noted that the chain had lagged behind others — including McDonald's, Subway, and Chick-fil-A — that introduced filters in 2016 or earlier. As recently as this summer, Starbucks responded to an inquiry from Hughes about its progress with a form letter saying the chain was still looking for a solution. 
 
 "People sit there for hours using the internet," Hughes said. "They're known for this. Let's make it safe and secure." 

 UPDATE Nov. 28, 2018: 
 
 After four years of pressure from EIE and concerned Americans, Starbucks told Business Insider that it begin to filter its WiFi nationwide in 2019. Help us hold Starbucks accountable to their most recent promise by signing our petition! 
 
 UPDATE Nov. 20, 2018: 
 
 Apparently, Starbucks cares more about providing paper straws to protect the environment than protecting kids and patrons on its public WiFi! Starbucks broke its promise to filter pornography and child sex abuse images, despite its public announcement it would voluntarily provide safe WiFi in its restaurants nationwide…an announcement more than 2 and-a-half years ago! 
 
 By breaking its commitment Starbucks is keeping the doors wide open for convicted sex offenders and patrons to fly under the radar from law enforcement and use free, public WiFi services to view or distribute graphics or obscene pornography, child pornography (an illegal crime), or engage in sexual predation activity. 
 
 A Starbucks’ representative told CNN in 2016: “We are in the process of evaluating a global protocol to address this in all of our company-owned stores, and are in active discussions with organizations on implementing the right, broad-based solution that would remove any illegal and other egregious content.” 
 
 Following that statement, EIE launched a national campaign applauding Starbucks for its display of corporate responsibility, thereby joining other national giants such as McDonalds and Chick-Fil-a, who already have taken direct measures to protect its patrons from dangerous content. To date, no action has taken place to suggest Starbucks has moved forward with its public commitment. 
 
 EIE is once again calling on all concerned to sign our new petition calling on Starbucks to follow through on its promise to filter. 
 
 EIE applauds Starbucks corporate responsibility to protect children in its UK stores by filtering its WiFi. What about America's children? Isn't the safety and innocence of America’s children worth protecting too?? We absolutely think so! 
 
 #enoughisenough #safewifi #protectkids 
 
 *********************************************************************** 
 
 The original petition was first launched 7/14/2016. McDonald's responded immediately and is now filtering in its nearly 14K locations nationwide. Starbucks broke its promise to filter since it committed to doing so more than 2 1/2 years ago. Hence, the need for a new petition above. 
 
 "He spent 12-15 hours per day at the McDonald's because of the free Wi-Fi. Tonight, a sex offender is arrested - caught using free internet in public to download child p*rnography... Detectives say the 25-year-old spent the past two years using the free Wi-Fi at the McDonald's... He worked on his computer and was a known regular of sorts in the children's play area at the restaurant." 
 
 Am I making this up? I wish I wasn't. This is news out of California, and there are hundreds of stories just like it all across the U.S. 
 
 Public Wi-Fi hotspots are attracting pedophiles and sex offenders to McDonald's - where we bring our children to eat and play - and where illegal p*rn can be accessed easily with anonymity. According to federal officers, open Wi-Fi - like that at McDonald's, Starbucks, and other companies - is being increasingly used to traffic child p*rnography and the sexual solicitation of children - serious criminal felonies that are hard to stop because of the anonymity offered by open Wi-Fi. Because there are no filters to block online p*rnography and child p*rnography in these restaurants that so many families like yours and mine frequent, this toxic illegal content is readily available in every Starbucks and McDonald's in America. This must end. 
 
 The best way to combat this growing trend - and to protect our children - is for you and me to pressure companies like McDonald's and Starbucks to implement filtering to block prosecutable hard-core p*rnography and child p*rnography on their public Wi-Fi networks. 
 
 Both McDonald's and Starbucks have already proactively filtered their public WiFi services in other nations including the United Kingdom and Australia. According to British Prime Minister, "Starbucks, McDonald's and other High Street retailers already comply with a "no p*rn via Wi-Fi" policy and more would be likely to come into line as awareness of the issues grow;" 
 
 If they can protect children in other nations, then why won't they protect our children here in America - where they are headquartered? 
 
 We agree, which is why in April of this year, EIE sent certified letters to McDonald's CEO Don Thompson and Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz appealing to each corporate leader to similarly implement their companies' p*rn-free Wi-Fi service in the United States. While EIE has not received a reply from Starbucks, McDonald's did respond via a spokesperson stating that "we appreciate your concern and are looking into options for effective filtering in the U.S." 
 
 We're not asking for something that they haven't already done elsewhere! This isn't about censorship, this is about corporate responsibility! In fact, many family-friendly companies - including Chick-fil-A and Panera Bread- have already implemented filtering to block p*rnography and child p*rnography on their Wi-Fi in America in order to protect children and other patrons... 
 
 That's why we've launched our P*rn Free WiFi Campaign - a campaign to get 20,000 petition signatures in 60 days! You have a chance right now; right here to combat the Internet p*rnography pandemic that is damaging children and families. We're asking that you take the following step - that don't require any effort beyond taking action online. Would you please: 
 
 1.Sign our P*rn Free WiFism petition to the CEO's of McDonald's and Starbucks. 
 
 2. Forward this e-mail to 10 people. Encourage your friends and family members to participate in this campaign. 
 
 3. "Like" our page on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. - And share our content when you do! 
 
 Together, we can get McDonald's and Starbucks to lead the way to protect children by ending public Wi-Fi safe havens for sexual predators and to prevent children from seeing things they should never have to see. 

 Starbucks is changing its policies to be more inclusive. Starbucks 
 
 Starbucks is trying to redefine what it means to be a chain — and it's causing confusion. 
 
 In the aftermath of the arrest of two black men at a Philadelphia location, Starbucks is trying hard to revamp its policies to be more inclusive. 
 
 "We want our stores to be the third place, a warm and welcoming environment where customers can gather and connect," the company said in a statement on May 19. "Any customer is welcome to use Starbucks spaces, including our restrooms, cafes and patios, regardless of whether they make a purchase." 
 
 However, with these new policies comes confusion. Can homeless individuals now, essentially, turn Starbucks into their homes? Are baristas able to refuse service to anyone at all? And, will this completely change the Starbucks experience? 
 
 Here is what exactly what the new policies mean — and how that will impact customers. 
 
 What you can do 
 
 Hang out at Starbucks without buying anything. 
 
 Use Starbucks' bathroom without buying anything. 
 
 In general, Starbucks asks customers to maintain the welcoming environment by: "Using spaces as intended; Being considerate of others; Communicating with respect; Acting responsibly." 
 
 What you can't do 
 
 No using drugs. Drug deals and use are one of the few things that employees are told to respond to with a 911 call, The Wall Street Journal reports. Employees are now encouraged to call 911 only if a situation presents immediate danger to employees or customers. 
 
 No breaking the law, including stealing or indecent exposure. 
 
 No drinking. 
 
 No watching porn. 
 
 No smoking. 
 
 No napping. 
 
 No talking too loudly or playing loud music. 
 
 No disrupting others in hygiene maintenance, by doing things such as cutting nails. 
 
 No obscenity or unwanted sexual advances. 
 
 No panhandling or solicitation. 
 
 What the changes actually mean 
 
 Practically speaking, many Starbucks locations have always had an open-door policy for most customers, with employees rarely preventing visitors from using the restrooms. However, some people have been excluded from the open bathroom norm. Those excluded tend to be black customers and people whom employees believe to be homeless. 
 
 Starbucks leadership has emphasized that the new policies are meant to address race. Having concrete policies in place, executives say, is a way to deal with implicit bias that some managers and employees may not realize they have, making Starbucks more welcoming for all. 
 
 However, the bigger sticking point may be how the new policies impact homeless people. Starbucks has long been a welcome haven for people who are homeless for the same reason it is enjoyed by anyone looking for a place to rest their feet. It has free WiFi and ample seating, and the staff will not kick you out. Now, in most situations, the staff cannot kick you out — a marked change in how Starbucks has dealt with some homeless customers in the past. 
 
 In 2016, three Starbucks locations in parts of Los Angeles with large homeless populations closed their bathrooms to customers and non-customers to discourage homeless people from visiting to use the restrooms and free WiFi. In 2007, a woman was thrown out of a Starbucks because management thought she was homeless. 
 
 With the new policies, neither of these incidents would have happened. Instead, with the new training next week, employees will be both encouraged and required to be inclusive in a way that goes against the grain in the chain-restaurant industry. 
 
 Will Starbucks actually feel different? That remains to be seen. But, you can't discount new policies' potential for shifting Starbucks' environment — for better or for worse — just yet.
– You'll soon be able to sit in Starbucks without fear of accidentally viewing porn. Though watching pornography is against Starbucks' rules, there are no content blockers on the coffee giant's WiFi, meaning porn sites remain accessible. To ensure locations are "safe and welcoming to all," however, Starbucks says it will introduce "a solution to prevent this content from being viewed within our stores" beginning next year, per Business Insider, which notes you also can't nap at Starbucks. No other details of the plan were provided. The move follows Starbucks' 2016 vow to block explicit websites; a petition claiming the chain "broke its promise" had more than 26,000 signatures as of Thursday. (Porn browsing led to malware on a government network.)