Last .... uh when was that again? A Florida man was arrested. My local Fed says the Florida man probably did something else and the local cops found a reason to bring him in. But this NEW story is about someone in London who was fined and his laptop was confiscated!!! <-multiple exclams required! For "piggybacking" a wireless network.
Egad, -Mike ------------------------------ http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000400051561 U.K. man arrested, fined for using open WiFi signal Posted Jul 22, 2005, 7:08 PM ET by Marc Perton Related entries: Wireless digital handcuffsLooks like Florida isnt the only place where you can get arrested for borrowing bandwidth as it floats past you. Word is that U.K. police recently arrested a man for using an open WiFi signal. According to reports, Gregory Straszkiewicz, 24, was found guilty of dishonestly obtaining an electronic communications service and possessing equipment for fraudulent use of a communications service after he was found logging on with a laptop outside an apartment building. Straszkiewicz was fined £500 ($872) and given a years probation; he also had his laptop confiscated. Were not experts on U.K. law, and the details of this case are pretty sketchy, but it still seems to us that just standing around and accessing the internet via an open network doesnt exactly constitute fraudulent use of anything. Read http://management.silicon.com/government/0,39024677,39150672,00.htm
