Monday, March 01, 2010



Britain outlaws open Wi-Fi!

We read:
"The U.K. government will not exempt universities, libraries, and small businesses providing open Wi-Fi services from its Digital Economy Bill copyright crackdown, according to official advice released earlier this week.

This would leave many organizations open to the same penalties for copyright infringement as individual subscribers, potentially including disconnection from the Internet, leading legal experts to say it will become impossible for small businesses and the like to offer Wi-Fi access.

Lilian Edwards, professor of Internet law at Sheffield University, told ZDNet UK on Thursday that the scenario described by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) in an explanatory document would effectively "outlaw open Wi-Fi for small businesses" and would leave libraries and universities in an uncertain position.

Source

What harm are you doing sitting in a coffee place and surfing the net? Can anybody tell me? This is classic over-regulation from Leftist nuts.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

You're right Jon but, using a WiFi connection in a public place leaves you wide open to hackers, who could be just ten feet away and you would never know it.

Anonymous said...

Anon,

Let the buyer (WiFi user) beware...

Don't shoot the messenger (WiFi provider)!

Anonymous said...

The idea is that the connection provider is legally responsible for what their users do with that connection unless they can point to the specific culprit.
If you provide open access points, anyone can use them and you have no way of knowing who they were.

Stan B said...

Holding Wi-Fi providers responsible for what the users download is like holding the Phone Company responsible when crimes are planned over the phone, or the Television Station responsible for broadcasting "Coded Messages" in an Osama Bin Laden tape that leads to a terrorist attack.

It is totally and completely ludicrous.

Anonymous said...

You're right bogs, but the danger is still there and still real.

Anonymous said...

Stan, so why is it that liberals hold gun manufacturers responsible for what users of their products do?

Anonymous said...

Where's the guy who always attacks Britain and the British as soon as those words appear in the title - like a rabid pavolvian dog!

Anonymous said...

It is just one more pustule sore popping up in a diseased fascist society devoid of any recollection of liberty and justice. Feel better, Anon 3:28. :)

Anonymous said...

anon 3:28

Sorry for being late, I overslept.

...clears throat...

Its Britain's fault!

Anonymous said...

"What harm are you doing sitting in a coffee place and surfing the net? Can anybody tell me?"

You could be in a car or van outside trying to set up a botnet or illegally downloading copyrighted material putting the provider in jeopardy.

Bobby said...

"Stan, so why is it that liberals hold gun manufacturers responsible for what users of their products do?"

---That's a legal strategy, they hate guns and want to sue gun companies into bankruptcy.

If a hacker uses a computer with an internet connection to do damage, do you sue Microsfot and Comcast? No. Yet some judges have allowed lawyers to sue gun companies for the actions of users who often purchase those guns illegally.

"Where's the guy who always attacks Britain and the British as soon as those words appear in the title - like a rabid pavolvian dog!"

---Well, I used to attacked Britain and the British, but I'm tired of doing that. The British are beyond redemption, the former subjects of the Queen are now subjects of the state. It's not easy to teach a slave how to be free.

Anonymous said...

Look in the mirror - are Americans any less subjects of the State and the "system" - don't fool yourselves.

Anonymous said...

Less than Britan... yup. But we are going out of our way to catch up

Anonymous said...

Yeah - I'm with Anon 5:40.
This is not about banning WiFi or preventing people from offering it.
This is about holding providers responsible for what users do online. So that if a user on your system downloads copyright material (or even child porn or sends spam) then you can be held liable.
It is really an attempt to suck up to major copyright holders (generally movie/music companies).