Legal Implications of Wi-Fi Usage

For more than half a decade, Americans traveling with their laptops have been using Wi-Fi networks that are not password-protected to access the Internet and to check their emails.
These are everyday people, including businessmen and businesswomen. However, most people do not realize that their actions could amount to the commission of a felony, as it may be illegal in many states to access another person’s and/or entities’ open Wi-Fi network.

What makes the laws that supposedly criminalize the use of open Wi-Fi networks interesting -- and perhaps unique -- are

society generally views open access to the Internet as beneficial;

there does not exist a government entity or industry group that advocates for the enforcement of these laws; and

the laws on the books were passed to address a completely different issue: namely, the hacking into another’s computer network.

For example, in 1984 the Federal Government enacted legislation to provide a clear statement of proscribed activity concerning computers, those who operate computers, and those tempted to commit crimes by unauthorized access to computers.* The intent of this law was to address the problem of computer crime in a single statute with the main focus being the difference between unauthorized access, for example hackers, and exceeding authorized access, which usually involved an employee exceeding access to a computer in the workplace.

Florida’s legislature, using the model statute that was enacted in most jurisdictions, also passed a set of statutes to address computer-related crimes.** The intent of these laws was to address unauthorized computer access, or hacking. The statute specifies that a person in violation of this law would have had to act “willfully, knowingly and without authorization.”***

These laws do not address open Wi-Fi access, but are focused on hacking, which is always done without authorization. However, the same presumption cannot be used to determine why a person would choose not to password protect his or her Wi-Fi network. A person might not password protect their Wi-Fi network because they believe in open Internet access and they welcome others using their network. Other people might not password protect their Wi-Fi network because they forgot to do so or lack the technical skill. These people may not want others to use their Wi-Fi networks. Due to the mixed views people have in regards to open Wi-Fi access, it is impossible for someone to distinguish which open Wi-Fi connections are for the benefit of society and which are open merely due to a person’s failure to install protections.

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Source: Computer Technology Review