Open WIFI network violations.

Many Internet users, due to haste or ignorance, use open WIFI networks. This is an easy way to intercept network traffic and steal data. However, what if the customer uses open networks WIFI and violates copyright? Will the entrepreneur who provides the network then be penalized?

It is an everyday occurrence for an entrepreneur to provide Internet access to customers in a cafe, restaurant, hotel and other places. However, some issues may not be entirely clear, for example, the fact of infringement (unlawful use) of some copyright work on the premises through an open hotspot network. In such a situation, is the content provider, the entrepreneur, the hosting provider or the end user held liable?

Free WIFI network sharing for advertising purposes.

The Court of Justice of the European Union has decided that if a business provides a WI-FI network to customers free of charge in order to advertise its own goods and services, this constitutes an information society service. Therefore, it is legal and not subject to liability for infringement by customers using the network.

HOTSPOT and copyright infringement

A content provider is a person or institution that makes content available to others through computer networks. The content provider of the network may be the author of the content in question, or own the copyright to it. In these cases, the case is clear (unless this entity provides illegal content, such as pedophile content, in which case it is criminally liable. This must be reported to the Ministry of Digitization).

A service provider is, for example, the owner of a premises where open WIFI is available. Providing services means transmitting on a telecommunications network or providing access to a telecommunications network. Under the Electronic Service Provision Law of July 18, 2002, a service provider is not liable for copyright infringement on the Internet if:

• is not the initiator of the data transfer, that is, he does not decide to enter data and information that violates the law,
• does not choose the recipient of the data transfer – does not choose the person to whom the transfer is directed,
• does not select and modify the information contained in the message – does not modify the data that is in the message.

This means that in these cases, the service provider cannot provide compensation to entities for copyright infringement.

Another situation in which the provider is also not held liable for copyright infringement is caching, i.e. automatic and short-term intermediate storage of data. This refers to certain situations in which the owner of a premises with shared WI-FI:

• does not modify the data,
• Uses recognized and applied IT procedures related to data access and updating,
• It does not cause disruption associated with the use of information technology techniques recognized in this type of activity in the collection of information on the use of collected data.

The hosting provider is not liable for copyright infringement when, by providing its own resources to the user, it has no knowledge of the illegal nature of the data and related activities. When it receives an official notice of copyright infringement, it must immediately prevent access to the data.

An end user can use works that have been temporarily copied to the RAM of his computer. The idea is to familiarize oneself with the work. If the work has found its way onto the Internet illegally, the end-user is not able to determine this, so it does not violate the copyright of the creator. It is illegal to make available to others a work to which the user does not own the rights.

WIFI: how to avoid data security problems?

We encourage the use of VPN, a network that enables secure data transfer between a device and a server. ITH, as a co-founder of the telecommunications market, offers VPN and other services to startups, large and small enterprises and public institutions. Our offerings include fiber Internet, network protection, VOIP, hosting, cloud computing and more.