Nelly needs your help; free N.Y. Wi-Fi backfires

to help overcome his bill for back taxes, according to calculations

Since streaming pays musicians less than a penny each time a song is played, math is not exactly the singer’s friend.

New York City wanted to bridge the digital divide by installing lots of free Wi-Fi kiosks around the city, but it wasn’t counting on people hanging out at those spots to stream music and movies — including porn.

network are shutting off their Internet browsers.

introduced the network with fanfare in February, hoping to replace more than 7,500 public pay phones and bring free Wi-Fi and phone service to every neighborhood.

Users were expected to make short stops to consult maps, gather information or charge their phones.

[...] the kiosks quickly attracted the homeless and other idle people, who took full advantage of the unlimited Internet access to watch movies and play music for hours.

The Daily Briefing is compiled from San Francisco Chronicle staff and news services.