A Michigan man is being prosecuted for using a cafe's free WiFi... from his car. Sam Peterson was arrested under a Michigan law barring access to anyone else's network without authorization, according to Michigan TV station WOOD. Since the cafe's WiFi network was reserved for customers, and Peterson never came into the cafe, he was essentially piggybacking off of the open network without authorization.
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The arrest came about because Peterson apparently showed up to the Union Street Cafe to use its free WiFi from the comfort of his car, and he did so every single day. A police officer grew suspicious of Peterson and eventually questioned him as to what he was up to. Peterson, not realizing that what he was doing was (at least) ethically questionable, told the officer exactly what he was doing. "I knew that the Union Street had WiFi. I just went down and checked my e-mail and didn't see a problem with that," Peterson told a reporter.
Under Michigan's "Fraudulent access to computers, computer systems, and computer networks" law, Peterson's actions could result in a five-year felony and a $10,000 fine. However, prosecutors do not plan to throw the book at him, as they don't believe that Peterson was aware he was even breaking the law. Instead, he will pay a $400 fine and do 40 hours of community service, and the arrest will not go on his record.
Coincidentally, the cafe owner that Peterson was leeching WiFi off of didn't even realize that what Peterson was doing was a crime at the time. Neither did the police officer. "I had a feeling a law was being broken, but I didn't know exactly what," Sparta police chief Andrew Milanowski told the TV station.
This is not the first time someone has been arrested for piggybacking on a WiFi connection. In 2005, a Florida man was arrested and hit with a third-degree felony for surfing an open WiFi network from his SUV. Similarly, an Illinois man was arrested in 2006 for, again, using an unsecured WiFi network from his car. He pleaded guilty to the charges and was given one year's court supervision and a $250 fine. A Washington man was also arrested in 2006 for parking outside of a coffee shop and using the open WiFi connection without purchasing anything. And just earlier this year, an Alaska man was arrested for using the WiFi network from the public library after hours to play games from?you guessed it?his car in the parking lot.
Whether or not you agree with the legality of using an open WiFi network without the owner's authorization, one thing is painfully clear: if you're going to leech, try not to do it from a parked car right in front of the building.
Originally posted by: darkswordsman17
Yeah, pretty much. What's the phrase, reasonable doubt? No that doesn't sound right. It doesn't mean that you can't get them in trouble for harassing you if there isn't any law being broken. Possibly you might be able to if your on your own property (which does not include cars parked on other publice or other private property).
Originally posted by: paulxcook
Are you thinking of "probable cause"?
You'd think cops would have better things to do, but at least people aren't going to jail for using open, unsecured wifi.
Originally posted by: TheKub
So when the Cafe, Dude, and Cop didn't know it was illegal this can still happen?
Originally posted by: darkswordsman17
It doesn't say how they found out. I'm guessing the guy wasn't arrested right away, but was after the cop talked to someone who knows the law. The thing I would be curious about is if the cop told him to stop and then came back and arrested him after he wouldn't (as in the guy came back the next day).
Wasn't there a law proposed where its illegal to have an unencrypted wirless signal (meaning the cafe owner would be the one at fault here, not the guy for using it)? I'm guessing it was shot down as it is fairly stupid, but you never know.
A Michigan man who used a coffee shop's unsecured Wi-Fi to check his e-mail from his car could have faced up to five years in prison, according to local TV station WOOD. But it seems few in the village of Sparta, Mich., were aware that using an unsecured Wi-Fi connection without the owner's permission--a practice known as piggybacking--was a felony.
Each day around lunch time, Sam Peterson would drive to the Union Street Cafe, park his car and--without actually entering the coffee shop--check his e-mail and surf the Net. His ritual raised the suspicions of Police Chief Andrew Milanowski, who approached him and asked what he was doing. Peterson, probably not realizing that his actions constituted a crime, freely admitted what he was doing.
"I knew that the Union Street had Wi-Fi. I just went down and checked my e-mail and didn't see a problem with that," Peterson told a WOOD reporter.
Milanowski didn't immediately cite or arrest Peterson, mostly because he wasn't certain a crime had been committed. "I had a feeling a law was being broken," the chief said. Milanowski did some research and found Michigan's "Fraudulent access to computers, computer systems, and computer networks" law, a felony punishable by five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Milanowski, who eventually swore out a warrant for Peterson, doesn't believe Milanowski knew he was breaking the law. "In my opinion, probably not. Most people probably don't."
Indeed, neither did Donna May, the owner of the Union Street Cafe. "I didn't know it was really illegal, either," she told the TV station. "If he would have come in (to the coffee shop), it would have been fine."
But apparently prosecutors were more than aware of the 1979 law, which was revised in 2000 to include protections for Wi-Fi networks.
"This is the first time that we've actually charged it," Kent County Assistant Prosecutor Lynn Hopkins said, adding that "we'd been hoping to dodge this bullet for a while."
However, Peterson won't be going to prison for piggybacking. Because he has no prior record, Peterson will have to pay a $400 fine, do 40 hours of community service and enroll in the county's diversion program.
Yup. I wouldn't tell a cop any more than I absolutely had to.Originally posted by: Linflas
Another person screwed because he insisted on providing way too much information. The proper response would have been "Sitting here in my car". He should have watched that ACLU video on how protect your constitutional rights on one of his visits outside the cafe.
Originally posted by: TheKub
Apparently not, they issued a warrant after the fact.
Originally posted by: Golgatha
Meh, if the hotspot isn't secured then he ought to be able to access it.
Originally posted by: brxndxn
The real sad thing is that nobody seems to realize that the ONLY reason those laws exist is because cell phone companies are lobbying for them. Free wifi is direct competition to cell phone-based Internet services. It's bullsh1t.
Originally posted by: Golgatha
Meh, if the hotspot isn't secured then he ought to be able to access it.
Originally posted by: Mardeth
Originally posted by: brxndxn
The real sad thing is that nobody seems to realize that the ONLY reason those laws exist is because cell phone companies are lobbying for them. Free wifi is direct competition to cell phone-based Internet services. It's bullsh1t.
Althought that might be true, I dont see this as unreasonable. The cafe bought the WiFi and was paying for it. And the guy in the car was basically stealing a service. Not really high on my list serious crimes, but a crime never the less.
Originally posted by: pontifex
dude...
the guy wasn't arrested because the cop had a feeling...he was arrested because he was using the wifi illegally.
the cop was suspicious, asked the guy what he was doing, the guy told him - basically a confession, so the cop arrested him.
"I had a feeling a law was being broken, but I didn't know exactly what," Sparta police chief Andrew Milanowski told the TV station.
Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire
"I had a feeling a law was being broken, but I didn't know exactly what," Sparta police chief Andrew Milanowski told the TV station.
This is madness!
- M4H
Originally posted by: pontifex
Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire
"I had a feeling a law was being broken, but I didn't know exactly what," Sparta police chief Andrew Milanowski told the TV station.
This is madness!
- M4H
Sparta, Michigan
Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire
Originally posted by: pontifex
Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire
"I had a feeling a law was being broken, but I didn't know exactly what," Sparta police chief Andrew Milanowski told the TV station.
This is madness!
- M4H
Sparta, Michigan
And it's only about a two hour drive to dine in Hell!
- M4H