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Busted For Using Library Wi-Fi Outside The Library

Posted by timothy on from the salt-lake-city-burger-king dept.

sevej writes "Keith Shaw, in his weekly column "Wireless Computing Devices" (Network World Fusion), reported on a recent entry in AKMA's Random Thoughts where AKMA was using a public WiFi network outside of a library. A policeman approached him and asked that he only access the Internet from within the Library and hinted that Federal Laws against "signal theft" were applicable. Oh, and btw, we're not talking about a person that looked like your stereotypical 'hacker'; AKMA is an ordained priest."

4 of 746 comments (clear)

  1. RTFA. by JNighthawk · · Score: 5, Informative

    He didn't. He assumed and even when he knew AKMA wasn't using wifi, he still told him to leave.

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  2. Re:signal theft ? by Xenna · · Score: 5, Informative

    I'm sure Apple marketing would rather have it differently, but 'Airport' is not a generic name for Wireless Access Points.

  3. Re:How did they know? by tobinibot · · Score: 5, Informative

    Read it again, he said the library was closed. Otherwise, he would have gone in to finish up.

  4. actually thanks to HBO in 1981.. by soloes · · Score: 5, Informative

    if this was in the USA, actually thanks to HBO in 1981 it is NOT illegal the officer was completely wrong. the law is very clear on this. It is not illegal to take any signal out of the air. it is however illegal to decrypt a signal. That is why HBO ended up having to scramble their signals. They were sueing provate satellite dish owners and manufacturers for copyright infringement. The US supreme court held that if it was not encrypted, it was indeed public domain.
    Secondly, the FCC has detemined certain channels to be public use. the 2.4 gig range used by WI/Fi is among those.

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