Desenzano Cuts Free Internet Stations After Porn Site Abuse
Surprise. The administration of Desenzano, on Lake Garda, decided at the beginning of the year to provide four free internet stations to residents and tourists. However, instead of using the network to gather information about hotels or places to visit, users preferred to click on porn sites. This was at the expense of the Municipality, which was then forced to take action.
Interventions and decisions by the administration
“I have ordered the service provided by the ‘Documat’ kiosks to be deactivated,” explains Councillor Giovanni Venieri. “It’s a pity: our goal was to encourage citizens’ access to the Internet. But we received numerous reports highlighting a distorted use of the stations.
After analyzing the logs of the connections made, we received immediate confirmation: many contacts were made to pornographic sites. From there, the unavoidable decision was made to interrupt the service. Soon,” concludes the councillor, “we will reactivate the connections to the network, but only for a fee.”
The digitization program and the facilities
The digitization program of the Garda municipality envisioned increasingly widespread use of informational structures. Thus, the administration activated the ‘On.De’ civic network, which now counts nearly two thousand users.
The service, in addition to providing certified civil status documents upon request, at the four stations located along the streets (in Rivoltella, San Martino della Battaglia, Piazza Garibaldi, and the Palazzo del Turismo), also offered the possibility to connect to the internet. Citizens and tourists could thus obtain information free of charge at any time of day or night and send or receive emails.
The problem of unauthorized browsing
However, the temptation to visit porn sites was too strong: hundreds of users, instead of clicking on the online service set up by the Comune di Desenzano, “exploited” the stations solely to indulge their curiosity, seeking out the most explicit porn sites.
Ennio Moruzzi