$1000 Fine if Minors Browse Adult Content on Your Open WiFi
Posted on: February 07, 2008
Ars Technica has an interesting article about how you could be fined $1000 if minors use your unprotected WiFi access to browse for adult material. That's a bill that is discussed in Utah.
“If you live in Orem and your next-door neighbor's kid uses your open WAP to look at pictures of naked women, you could find yourself on the hook for a $1,000 fine. Yarro thinks that's fine, telling the Tribune that people "should be responsible for their barking dogs and their Internet access."
So… the kid steals your bandwidth to browse naked pictures and you get fined $1000? What about fining the parents who can’t teach or keep an eye on their kids? And what if the kid breaks into your living room and watches adult movies with your TV?
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Reader Comments
By Redundant , 08/02/08 2:50 PM (CommentID #472640)
Ever live in an Apartment complex and try to track down the owner of a particular open AP ? How will the parents know which neighbor their child is bogarting internet from ? Will the child be charged with theft ? The parents are the ones that should be at fault. If they cannot secure their own equipment, then they need to hire someone to do so. Not make someone else pay for their shortcomings
By Tim , 08/02/08 10:37 AM (CommentID #472285)
Why not fine the parents of the kid who is engaging in unlawful use of property, at, say $2500. Don't people have just as much obligation to secure their wireless adapters/software as the owner of a wap? At least the owner of the wap isn't engaging in theft.
By tschup0 , 08/02/08 8:17 AM (CommentID #472079)
I am guessing that you could turn right around and file suit for stealing access, if they wanted to play that game.
By The Voice of Reason , 08/02/08 8:16 AM (CommentID #472073)
That is dumb.
The Voice has spoken.
By Ex-Utahn , 08/02/08 5:53 AM (CommentID #471890)
What if kids under 17 go to an R-rated movie? Does the theatre get fined $1000 per kid?
By xyzzy , 08/02/08 5:34 AM (CommentID #471873)
Mormons for ya. They stole my cousin's kid, they thing I'm going to Hell for being a caffeine addict, and they want to exert this level of social control over the good people of Gilead (or is that Utah?). If you're not scared of Mitt Romney presidency, you should be now.
By imajoebob , 07/02/08 11:33 PM (CommentID #471437)
Fine by me. But if it's your kid I'll have him charged with larceny (maybe grand larceny, since it cost me that much), and I'll sue you for damages, both actual - the $1,000 plus damage to my reputation, plus punitive for not supervising your own kid and not installing kid-protection software on his machine.
Actually, I think I'll move to Orem and let kids know I have unprotected WiFi. It could be quite profitable.
By Geofrey , 07/02/08 7:27 PM (CommentID #471220)
I would hazard a guess that it could be rather difficult to prove that said neighbor was accessing my wifi.
By Get Real , 07/02/08 5:43 PM (CommentID #471132)
Wake up people! WAP and WPA encryption can be broken by any 13 year old kid. The tools are avialable for FREE on the internet. When there is a will (or porno), there is a way!
By I used to live in Utah , 07/02/08 5:09 PM (CommentID #471100)
This doesn't surprise me at all. How about teaching these idiots to parent their children?
By Joey , 07/02/08 4:55 PM (CommentID #471079)
Then sue the kids parents for damages due his breaking & entering. You could sue for, oh, say, $1000?
By Woody7 , 07/02/08 4:33 PM (CommentID #471034)
And this from a state thats favorite program is "Desperate Housewives"
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