You still do not have Wi-Fi here, is not it? | TIME ONLINE

The smartphone searches and searches, but it rarely finds anything: Open Wi-Fi hotspots are hardly available in Germany, the internet is usually only accessible via the mobile network. While in about
Britain and Estonia are almost as good as any bus stop and every cafe is equipped with free Wi-Fi so you have to live somewhere in this country to find a panel "Free Wifi" – .

That the stores and
Public institutions have long barely offered their own hotspots, was mainly due to the Störerhaftung, which was enshrined in the German Telemedia Act: If a person on the WLAN of a restaurant
not only she but also the restaurant owner was able to download illegal music
to be held responsible In the worst case, it meant a warning
high costs. This has prevented many companies from having free internet
offer.

The Abolition of Disruptive Liability
should minimize the risk for businesses: the owners of the connection
and the owners can not be held responsible since the modification of the law Telemedia 2017,
if someone else violates the copyright of a song by putting it in the
Network propagation. Finally, no one should talk about it anymore
Having to think of what others might have about their own
Internet connection hired. WLAN for everyone, everywhere – it does not look like a utopia
more.

The Federal High Court has
new law now largely confirmed. Hotspot operators do not have to
Stop and stop the injunctions over when another person over theirs
Wi-Fi access a wounded right. This was decided by the judges of the
Thursday. Until now, so nice.

The German Trend in Over-Regulation

In the reform of the Telemedia Act, the federal government, like the Network Enforcement Act, has shown a clear trend towards digital over-regulation and has created an obstacle: network
need to protect their open ports with pbadwords or some internet sites
Lock. The latter should the owners of the copyright, namely
For example, music producers and movie studios, at least some manipulate
against downloading illegally distributed songs or videos

On the basis of this already difficult pbadage, the BGH has now confirmed the prohibition of the network. The judgment states that
that they are not limited to certain blocking measures
In addition, wireless LAN operators could also be required
To register users or "in the most extreme case" to completely block access.

Of course, the protection of copyright is fundamentally necessary and desirable. However, you do not avoid violations by imposing locks and making the free WiFi more difficult to access with a pbadword. If you want to download or download something somewhere, you will find a way, whether via a public or private network. As the question arises whether the debate on illegal downloads and downloads does not correspond to the reality of most Internet users: there are already enough legal streaming services such as Spotify or Netflix with which almost every song and movie can be seen everywhere Lets consume.

This becomes even more complicated

Network Locks is therefore only an improvement in the responsibility of sturgeon. the
Karlsruhe judges again destroy their hope
WLANisierung full of Germany. Because even if a coffee owner and a library chief are no longer responsible for illegal downloads of a person,
In some cases, they must at least make their navigation more difficult. Already like
The law was pbaded in 2017, noted critics
that would rather lead to more network locks, netzpolitik.org wrote by
a "danger to the freedom of communication".

We still do not know what network latches could look like in a particular case. Depending on the form in which they are interpreted by the courts, however, they could be additional complications for
Hotspot operators mean. Although it is not technically very difficult to prevent access to a particular website. But it's not just about whether a network ban
is basically possible, but also on pages that should be on an index, for example. It's just not possible to use all internet platforms
to lock on which a movie or song is illegal to download
is offered: Constantly there are new providers, others disappear, hotspot operators would not even come out of the update. For them, judgment means yet another uncertainty.

All of this can deter many people and businesses from setting up open Wi-Fi access because they have to somehow look after a backup. So, instead of the Störerhaftung
In fact, at least in this respect, Germany will become a digital developing country for a while
remain. Victims are as usual: we Internet users.