> That's a really stupid law and it's one of the reasons why Germany is so far behind when it comes to building great internet/tech startups.
Germany is doing pretty good actually. I visit German start-ups with great regularity and both the quantity and the quality leave very little to be desired.
Munich, Hamburg, Berlin all have a fair number of very interesting start-up companies quite a few of which I think will end up doing just fine in the longer term.
I don't think the point was the free Wifi. I believe the point is that a government capable of such a stupid law is capable of more stupid laws that tech companies don't care for.
I'm just curious: are you arguing from that it's a stupid law from a moral perspective or a pragmatic one? I might disagree with these policies philosophically, but I've never seen evidence that they were anything but ruthlessly efficient at achieving their desired ends.
I mean...if your desired end is to prevent free wifi availability nationwide (and the various benefits that provides, access to information and job listings and community and such), regardless of socio-economic strata, and to ensure that any security issue (weak passwords, out of date firmware, a zero day) makes an end user legally culpable, all to help protect a content industry predominantly located outside your nation, then sure, chalk that up as a success?
Yeah so that my Grandma who had Comcast install her router should definitely be legally culpable when there is a firmware issue with the router, or when the installer sets up a weak password (or none at all). I think you are probably speaking from a tech support perspective where you have had to fix systems that haven't been patched for years and that caused issues. Well, most of the population would be screwed by laws like this thru no fault of their own.
Not downvoting just suggesting that the sarcasm might detract from comprehensibility for English learners. It detracts nothing from the point by just saying plainly that she should not be.
Yes, let's make non tech savvy people liable for keeping track of zero day exploits. While it might make some people more aware, I think in large part it would just push people off of the internet.
I mostly find it offensive that between the company selling access, and people giving access away for free, it's the latter that would be liable for what their users do.
There are moral and pragmatic reasons against liability, but they are not nearly as glaring as that inequality.
Its a hassle. Even larger non-profit organizations (Freifunk for example) which provide free open wifi route their traffic via VPN to a country without "Störerhaftung" (Sweden) to eliminate the risk of getting adhortatory letters.
Maybe everyone there should start doing that? Even an individual could provide free wifi but route it through a foreign VPN service.
For that matter, with a law that stupid I'm surprised the major ISPs there aren't making hay by offering a VPN service with your internet account and integrating it into their broadband routers.
Actually, Freifunk Rheinland did register as an ISP and built a sizeable backbone network. They provide internet access to many Freifunk communities without any risk of liability.
Same here in France, the owner of the Wifi AP is liable in case of illegal downloads.
However a large majority of ISP implemented a separate free Wifi that is independent of your connection. You have access to all the free wifi AP from this ISP if you don't opt-out.
It doesn't have to be analogous to piracy, for example: if I use your phone to discuss a bank robbery with my partners in crime, even without your knowledge, you could be charged with conspiracy.
Same deal in New Zealand. Except the law to "3 strikes" so if you receive 3 infringement notices within a 9 month window you can expect to be "prosecuted".
It is called 'Störerhaftung'. That way it doesn't matter who exactly did illegal you download stuff. You are liable non the less.
Funny thing though - the moment you are an incorporated ISP you do not fall under this concept anymore.
That is by the way the reason free WiFi isn't that available in Germany.