| My favorite part of the FON FAQ... Am I responsible if a user uses my connection for illicit activities?
No. As long as you have not actively participated in the commission of a crime or do not have knowledge that a particular individual is using your connection to commit a crime or illegal activity, it is our understanding that you are not responsible. Nevertheless, this may vary depending on the laws of each country. Furthermore, FON discourages any inappropriate use of your connection by making sure that each user of the FON Community has registered and is identifiable. I wonder if they realize that they are pretty much giving out legal advice. I wonder how long it will take for a lawsuit to pop up here...
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| right.. that will go well with the local law enforcement, fbi, ect..
I guess since FON "discourages any inappropriate" use, everyone will abide by their rules. That's really reassuring since registered users are identifiable. Here's my FON identifiable info..
Steve Jackass
123 YoMamasHouse
Chicago, IL 60640
Estados Unidos
(123) 456 789
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 knightmbEverybody Lies
join:2003-12-01
Franklin, TN | reply to achuchma
said by achuchma:I wonder if they realize that they are pretty much giving out legal advice. I wonder how long it will take for a lawsuit to pop up here... Well I guess anything could be taken as legal advice be it valid or not. I'm sure we can come up with a ton of examples.
-- My neighbors hooks a hose pipe to mine and uses the water to drown people at night when I'm sleeping, should I go to jail with them?
-- My neighbors uses my outside electrical outlet to kill people at night when I'm sleeping, should I go to jail with them?
-- A serial killer was using front yard to meet his victims at night when I'm sleeping before taking them away and commiting murder, am I also responsible for this?
I think unless you can actually prove that the person some how knew what was going on, any situation that turns out bad can be blamed on anyone else that is connected in any way. That would be a bad thing  |
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 n1zukBreak out the checkbookPremium
join:2001-10-24
Malta
kudos:2 | Unlike your water faucet or your power receptical, you OFFERED your wireless Internet connection for others to use...
You need a better analogy...
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jpark
join:2005-02-05
Jackson, TN | reply to knightmb
Unfortunately, in today's America, what is legal or illegal activity depends on the prosecutor, judge, and whatever news 'expose' is currently playing on TV. Right and wrong are no longer important -- PR (votes) are important, and of course, money.
Any discussion of legality should recognize that laws in America are as fluid as supercooled helium.
That said, I think it is good to share your internet bandwidth if you can and if you take certain precautions against becoming a spam site, etc. You paid for a certain bandwidth and doubtless are not using all the bandwidth you paid for. |
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 Speedy8Premium
join:2002-08-22
Alliance, OH
1 edit | reply to n1zuk
said by n1zuk:Unlike your water faucet or your power receptical, you OFFERED your wireless Internet connection for others to use... You need a better analogy... So if you let someone use your water hose and they kill someone with it without your knowledge you are responsible too? I think his analogy is pretty accurate. Just because you let someone use something that isn't innately made for illegal activity and they use it for something illegal doesn't make you just as responsible. |
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 NY TelPremium
join:2004-04-09
Smithtown, NY
kudos:3 | reply to knightmb
I think you need to move to another neighborhood. Your neighbors are mean.  |
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 CheesePremium
join:2003-10-26
Naples, FL
kudos:1 | reply to achuchma
said by achuchma:Am I responsible if a user uses my connection for illicit activities?
No. As long as you have not actively participated in the commission of a crime or do not have knowledge that a particular individual is using your connection to commit a crime or illegal activity, it is our understanding that you are not responsible. Nevertheless, this may vary depending on the laws of each country. Furthermore, FON discourages any inappropriate use of your connection by making sure that each user of the FON Community has registered and is identifiable. I wonder if they realize that they are pretty much giving out legal advice. I wonder how long it will take for a lawsuit to pop up here... As I have said before, it's your router, your ISP, if something happens, guess who they are coming to? You, not the person using your router and connection. Also, it's their understanding that you are not responsible, that to me, raised a red flag as it should ANYONE who reads that FAQ. |
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knightmbEverybody Lies
join:2003-12-01
Franklin, TN | reply to jpark
said by jpark:Unfortunately, in today's America, what is legal or illegal activity depends on the prosecutor, judge, and whatever news 'expose' is currently playing on TV. Right and wrong are no longer important -- PR (votes) are important, and of course, money. Any discussion of legality should recognize that laws in America are as fluid as supercooled helium. That said, I think it is good to share your internet bandwidth if you can and if you take certain precautions against becoming a spam site, etc. You paid for a certain bandwidth and doubtless are not using all the bandwidth you paid for. Yeah, first on the list, blocking "outbound" port 25 connections to prevent SPAM e-mail. Which as I write this I laugh because I use to bash Bellsouth in the past for blocking port 25, what have I become! 
Traffic shaping of course, limited bandwidth and lowest priority on my network so as not to disrupt the business. Heck if it's going to be free, sure not going give everyone the full 3 Mbps download and 1.5 Mbps upload. Maybe 1 Mbps download and 128 Kbps upload so you can check e-mail, web surf, instant message, etc. without too much fuss. I can traffic shape within traffic shaping so the P2P connections are lower priority than everything else going through the unit so people can file share if they like but won't kill others trying to get free Internet.
I'm going to assign a spare WAN IP address to the unit so if anything bad does happen (spam blacklist or whatever), it's only one IP address to worry about, stays away from the business and personal network stuff. |
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| reply to steve19726
How much do i get payed if i set this up. |
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NY TelPremium
join:2004-04-09
Smithtown, NY
kudos:3 | said by Momey :
How much do i get payed if i set this up.
No money but you get payed in "TIME'.
If you get caught, you wind up doing time.... |
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n1zukBreak out the checkbookPremium
join:2001-10-24
Malta
kudos:2 | reply to Speedy8
Maybe. If you knew they had the potential to kill someone with it, that they possibly had the intent to use it in that manner, then yes, charges could be filled for you being an accessory to the crime.
The fact we are discussing it here shows both the potential and the possibility that an open, offered Wifi connection could be used for illegal activity.
Even if the chances of criminal or civil charges are only a remote possibility, why chance it? What is the return to you to open your Internet connection? Is it worthy of the risk involved?
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 insomxPremium
join:2003-01-26
Canada | reply to steve19726
said by steve19726:right.. that will go well with the local law enforcement, fbi, ect.. I guess since FON "discourages any inappropriate" use, everyone will abide by their rules. That's really reassuring since registered users are identifiable. Here's my FON identifiable info.. Steve Jackass 123 YoMamasHouse Chicago, IL 60640 Estados Unidos (123) 456 789 And you think your router is gonna get to you?
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»monctonhigh.ca
"What is wrong with all the people that say what is wrong with people?" |
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 damonlabPremium
join:2001-05-02
Detroit, MI | reply to n1zuk
Most analogies suck, this one included.
If somebody uses this connection to commit a crime, you are not liable. This works the same way that your ISP is not liable if you use their connection to commit a crime. You are the ISP in this type of setup. |
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| Except ISPs keep records of customers being businesses. You are not a business and hense are not subject to the same rules. However, I think the idea that you can't offer your hotspot for free without fearing criminal charges is assinine. |
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