German User Fined For Having an Open Wi-Fi

Kilrah_il writes "A German citizen was sued for copyright infringement because copyrighted material was downloaded through his network while he was on vacation. Although the court did not find him guilty of copyright infringement, he was fined for not having password-protected his network: 'Private users are obligated to check whether their wireless connection is adequately secured to the danger of unauthorized third parties abusing it to commit copyright violation,' the court said."

Comments

Re:I see.

[OrangeTide]

I would not be surprised if this has not already happened. It sounds suspiciously like many of the bizarre cases from California.

Re:This is disgusting

[sexconker]

Free public Wi-Fi is one of the most important public services of the 21st century.

No.

Water, electricity, gas, roads, police, firemen, ambulances, etc.

Free public wifi is no where near the top of that list.

I know this is slashdot and you're all a bunch of fucking nerds, but there's a real world out there, and it's far more important than the fucking internet.

Re:I see.

[cayenne8]

"It is usually State and local Governments that enforce seat belt laws. They tend to exist because they reduce the risk of "exploding tube of toothpaste" type of fatalities during accidents. They serve the public good in two ways. 1) They keep healthcare and insurance costs low for everybody; fatal accidents or accidents with heavy injuries are very expensive to clean and rectify"

I don't buy that argument. Rather than seatbelt laws as an example (since they have been on the books so long), lemme use an analogy with motorcycle helmets. We used to have choice here to wear helmets or not if you were over the age of 18. They argued it would save lives AND would save money on everyone's insurance if we re-instated the helmet laws.

Well, while the bitch was governor, we got the helmet law back. And I'm still asking everyone if they noticed that savings/reduced rate we all got back due to the monetary benefits of wearing a helmet?

No? Hmm....

And, from what I've read...not much a swing in motorcycle accidents/fatalities either way.

"Massachusetts (for one). To own a Long Gun you need to pass a state safety course and register the gun with local police. Handguns require an additional safety course and approval from your local police chief. Concealed carry permits require even more course time, approval from local police chief, and usually an 18-24 month waiting period (during which if you even get a speeding ticket you are denied). All guns must be stored unloaded in a locked cabinet or case, or with a trigger lock. Birthplace of liberty my ass."

I was guessing somewhere in the NE.

Sad...more and more I hear about loss of freedoms and all in the very area of the birthplace of our nation. Hell, last time I was up there, I was aghast at the strict liquor laws, and how no one could smoke within a country mile of shore it seemed like....my girlfriend at the time up there often told me I'd be in jail quickly with the pipes on my motorcycle, which are slightly loud, but not obnoxious (pretty much on par with most any bike here where I live). I used to astound people up there with the fact that I've never experienced an emissions check on my car or bike. No such thing where I've ever lived. Heck, in my last state I lived in, they completely did away with the auto inspection requirement. People figured it was nothing but an extra tax grab and got rid of it.