Article content

NEW YORK — The web-browsing feature of New York City’s sidewalk Wi-Fi kiosks will be disabled after critics complained that homeless people were monopolizing them and using them to watch porn, officials said Wednesday.

The consortium that installed 400 LinkNYC kiosks across the city said it will remove web browsing from the kiosks while it works with city officials to explore potential solutions to their abuse.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or New York pulls plug on sidewalk Internet after complaints homeless were using it to watch porn Back to video

“The kiosks were never intended for anyone’s extended, personal use and we want to ensure that Links are accessible and a welcome addition to New York City neighbourhoods,” LinkNYC said in a statement.

Natalie Grybauskas, a spokeswoman for Mayor Bill de Blasio, said, “There were concerns about loitering and extended use of LinkNYC kiosks, so the mayor is addressing these quality-of-life complaints head on.”

The kiosks will still provide free domestic calls, phone charging and fast Wi-Fi with the user’s own device.