MSNBC has an interesting news item: a German court is ordering all wireless routers to have a password, or the owners will be fined if it is discovered that someone used their connection illegally. From the post:

Internet users can be fined up to euro 100 ($126) if a third party takes advantage of their unprotected WLAN connection to illegally download music or other files, the Karlsruhe-based court said in its verdict. “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.

OK, so this is yet another lame attempt to stop people from sharing music and movies by trying to make the ‘ISP’ (a router owner in this case) an accessory to the crime. I get that, but a $126.00 fine, in the event someone is caught using your WiFi illegally and they prosecuted, is not a deterrent. But there are interesting possibilities to consider.

  1. Would the fine still apply if the password was ‘1234’?
  2. What if they had a password, but used WEP? Some routers, especially older routers, use WEP as the default. It’s trivial to breach and gain access to the password, so is that any better? Do we fine the owner of the router, or do we now fine the producer of the router for implementing crappy security? Or is the manufacturer covered by their 78 page EULA?
  3. Many laws start as benign, just to get a foothold and set precedence, then turn truly punitive after time. What if the fine was raised to $1,260, or $12,600? Would that alter your opinion?

I cannot see an instance where this law makes sense as a deterrent to the actions it levies fines against.

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