Porn nightmare at 37,000 feet?

That headline from this Network World article maybe be a little melodramatic, but they do raise a valid question: what should be done about controlling Internet access to potentially objectionable content now that American Airlines is offering Wi-Fi Internet access on some of their flights.  The Network World article and a preceding one at Bloomberg discuss a problem with inappropriate content being viewed in flight.  While some express opinions like:

"It's a tricky door to open,'' said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy and Information Center in Washington. 'Where do you draw the line o nce you start policing the information your customers can access?''

Even if the customers are paying for access, I think this one is a no-brainer- the airplane is a workplace and the airlines are required by law to prevent a hostile workplace, display of obscene content has been found to create a hostile work environment- so it needs to be filtered.

The airlines are already filtering to block VoIP, so they have proven that they are willing and able to filter some traffic.  Sure, it can be taken too far, but I think the airlines should filter traffic- and they should clearly define what is and is not allowed when you sign up for in-flight Internet access.