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German court orders WiFi users to be more secure
GERMANY'S TOP CRIMINAL COURT has ruled that an Internet user can be fined €100 if they do not have a password on their wireless connection.
Basically if someone hacks into your account and uses your unprotected WLAN connection to illegally download copyrighted material, you could be faced with a fine, the court has decided.
Accoording to the Associated Press, the Karlsruhe-based court has ruled that private users are obligated to check whether their wireless connection is adequately secured against the danger of unauthorized third parties abusing it to commit copyright violations.
However the court stopped short of holding the users responsible for any illegal content the third party might have downloaded themselves.
It also said that users could not be expected to update their wireless connection's security. They only have to protect their Internet access by setting up a password when they first install it.
The ruling came after a musician sued an Internet user whose wireless connection was used to illegally download a song. The user proved he was on holiday while the song was downloaded via his wireless connection.
The court says that while he does not have to pay thousands for all the illegal downloads that came about as a result of his actions, he will have to stump up €100 for not having changed the password. µ
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You find some judicial explanations of this case here:
http://www.undergermanlaw.com/disturbance-liability-the-reason-for-wlan-restrictions-in-germany/
(Explanations by a german lawyer, written in english)
The guy at the counter might ask you for some ID, which will be logged, and then give you the WEP2 access key for the day. At midnight, the key would be changed and then handed out to punters on the next day. Et cetera.
Sure, it might mean you have to dig into your wallet and hand over your particulars to Starbucks; sure, it might mean coffees get served a little slower, but you'll still get your free WiFi with your coffee!
Only thing you then need to worry about is Google making a hostile takeover bid for Starbucks...
Zis ees not an invasion, zis ees for zee greater good of the German Union of Northen Democratic Europe and Socialist European Republic of Economic International Counries - BUNDESREICH!
Zee Bundesreich, Zee Heil!
All of zee European minor countries vill suffer zee massive unemployment, zee social unrest and vee vill use our soldiers to "stablise" zees areas of unrest.
Meine fellow Germans, VEE HAVE WAITED A LONG TIME BUT THE HOUR IS UPON US!!!
;-)
THEY ARE WORKING ON A SCHEME HERE IN CANADA THAT IF YOU WALK AWAY FROM YOUR CAR WITH THE ENGINE RUNNING AND THE DOORS UNLOCKED (OR OPEN) AND YOUR CAR CONSEQUENTLY GETS STOLEN, YOUR INSURANCE MAY NOT COVER THE FULL LOSS.
OBVIOUSLY THIS IS AN EXTREMELY COMPLICATED ISSUE THAT YOU CANNOT JUST RESOLVE OVERNIGHT, THIS HAS BEEN BEING STUDIED AND RESEARCHED HERE IN CANADA FOR YEARS NOW SO MAJOR APPLAUSE TO GERMAN JUSTICE SOCIETY FOR FINDING SOME SOLUTION TO THEIR PROBLEM, EVEN THOUGH IT IS COMPLETELY IDIOTIC AND WILL FAIL AT THE VERY NEXT CHALLENGE. DUM-ARSES.
You can put a password on your wireless router and I think that is what the judge is adressing here. It's not that hard and yes I know it's not perfect, but they are asking for a show of effort, even if it is small from the Maffia view point
How it is different if somebody fined for leaving door in personal room, or sharing room with somebody, and having Ethernet or media content such as CDs-DVDs-MP3 available in that room? Sounds like Fascism is being explored as profit increase tool by big labels/media concerns..
sounds like the perfect scam
either:
a. the media industry fully knows the circumstances but witholds certain information from the government to ease the passing of a draconian law
b. the government is fully aware of the circumstances but plays 'thicko' to absolve partial responsibility because it also wants draconian laws for its own agenda
Kind of... although the wifi is not password protected, you cannot get any further without a username and password for the web proxy. All of which should/could be logged.
It's like how most commercial hotspots work.
By the sound of things, and as usual, the law doesn't actually understand the things it is passing judgement on, and think that just because someone has no password on the actually wireless link that their connection is completely open.
Must not be any Starbucks or any establishments with free wifi access for customers over there.
If there were, it'd be a hell of a leap expecting private users to keep their wifi to themselves, even though they're paying to use the access as they please.
Sounds like the dream of media companies, internet providers, and wifi manufacturers everywhere.
Next on the agenda will be requiring one internet account per person, and they'll need their own router, and will be responsible for everything downloaded over that connection, which will of course be monitored.
Lets hope people don't encourage big brother by actually obeying this ruling.
I guess there is no right to provide an anonymizing service in germany.
As you'll recall from the movie "Star Wars", R2D2 had to use a physical connection to tap into the ship's computer. Wireless is just a fad between the eras of Thomas Edison and R2D2.
That you can roam from your own paid-for broadband and wireless router, to your neighbour's, your brother's in the next town, or any router in radio range of the street...?
I don't think I imagined it?
But I don't think they cover Germany(?...)
this is the state's way of helping the media companies prosecute citizens for loss of profits. they can no longer use the excuse of insecure wireless yet even a secure wireless network can have its security circumvented!
big brother will punish you for not being punishable!