A UK pub that provided its customers with free Wi-Fi access has been fined
A UK pub that provided its customers with free Wi-Fi access has been fined £8000 after one of them used the Internet link to download illegal material. The law regarding the responsibilities of free Wi-Fi providers is a grey area and subject to much academic discussion. A more pragmatic approach when providing such services is to install technical measures such as Smoothwall's Guardian product range to reduce the risk of illegal activity, which will at the same time protect customers from malicious websites (another as yet untested area of law is the liability of free Wi-Fi vendors if a customer's machine is attacked or they are subjected to offensive material). Just because you don't charge for a service does not mean you have no liability for it. Failure to take note of this could mean you end up the unwilling subject of a new test case, unlikely to be a pleasant or profitable experience. More information:
ZDNet: Pub 'fined £8k' for Wi-Fi copyright infringement
