Whoops. Also: sorry.

That’s what Tim Hortons was saying Friday after the company unblocked the website of a gay community newspaper that had been flagged for inappropriate content.

After a Twitter-fuelled backlash, Timmies backtracked Friday, unblocking the not-especially-racy dailyxtra.com from its Wi-Fi network and blaming “human error” for the embarrassing snafu.

Xtra publisher and editor-in-chief Brandon Matheson, who goes to Timmies several times a week, started getting reports that it was impossible to access the publication’s website from the Tim Hortons Wi-Fi network during the week of July 8.

When Xtra asked the chain to unblock their site, Timmies refused.

“We have reviewed this site’s content and have found that it is not appropriate for all ages viewing in a public environment,” read the unsigned email from a Tim Hortons web administrator. “We try to ensure that all of our guests can enjoy a safe and pleasant experience when visiting us.”

“There is no way to change this decision,” the administrator added.

“For a ‘safe and pleasant experience,’ I guess I won’t be going to @TimHortons,” tweeted David Demchuk after Xtra wrote about the story on its website.

Andrea Houston, an Xtra writer, proposed a Timmies boycott. “I think there are many options for coffee in Toronto. So, for #Canqueer ppl and allies, @TimHortons need not be one of them,” she tweeted Friday.

By about 4:30 p.m. that day, the website was accessible from the Tim Hortons network again.

Tim Hortons spokesperson Michelle Robichaud said that the company contracts a company to filter inappropriate sites from its Wi-Fi. The contractor’s screening is automated, though Robichaud confirmed that a person had reviewed dailyxtra.com’s application.

“Sometimes websites are blocked in error; dailyxtra.com never should have been blocked in the first place,” she said. “We apologize if anyone was offended by that error.”

Still, she said, “I don’t think it was a homophobic decision at all.”

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Robichaud said it was not immediately clear whether the site had been blocked nationwide or only in Toronto. Xtra’s free print edition is distributed in Toronto, Ottawa, and Vancouver.

Matheson said he accepted the company’s apology. “They made the right decision,” he said.

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