Thou Shalt Not 'Piggyback' in Michigan ...
Unauthorized use of WIFI a felony...in Michigan!
... and they call Californians nuts!
[:D][:D][:D]
How would you like to lose your gun rights over this? Talk about an a/h police chief and prosecutor. He must have had an absolute tool for a lawyer also.
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.
[:o)]
... and they call Californians nuts!
[:D][:D][:D]
How would you like to lose your gun rights over this? Talk about an a/h police chief and prosecutor. He must have had an absolute tool for a lawyer also.
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.
[:o)]
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on one hand I agree that stealing broadband is bad and also a security threat, but if you are too dumb to secure your network you deserve to have piggyback connections 0 -
That is SO stupid....using a FREE internet connection in the parking lot of a coffee shop is a felony??? I bet you anything if they had charged me I could have made the argument that THE PARKING LOT of the business that was giving the FREE INTERNET ACCESS is the same as going inside to take advantage of that FREE service they are giving away.
Plus....
I know MY Linx wireless internet modem has setting that would make it so that you have to know passwords to get logged on.....SO if a mother of three can keep people from being able to use the wireless internet then....anyone who actually lets their modem be used by just anyone who is in the area is at fault....not the USERS who find a nim rod who lets the safety down on their system.0 -
What BS, if he had come in the shop, it was ok to use, but outside is not? if the business is offering free wi-fi, I don't see how he could be charged.
Don0 -
Poorly crafted law.
Thank you, once again, lawyers.
Doug0 -
The way I see it it is like Radio. Once it is out in the air, and NOT SECURED then anyone is free to intercept and use it as they will. 0 -
quote:Fraudulent
He wasn't trying to defraud anyone.
That police chief is an idiot.
Around here I can't get the sherrif to inforce trespassing laws.0 -
America is going crazy.
Thankfully, nothing has been done in the Senate and Congress this year. That's the nice thing about have Democrats in the Senate and House. They do nothing. No really. The only thing they've done is run for President.0 -
quote:Originally posted by longsantafe
quote:Fraudulent
He wasn't trying to defraud anyone.
That police chief is an idiot.
Around here I can't get the sherrif to inforce trespassing laws.
In Portland if you steal a car they just write you a ticket. You have to be caught several times to do time in prison. Its a total joke.0 -
About "if it's in the air, it's free" - not so.
Some years ago I read about a guy who lived near some very high power electric lines. He put a device on top of his house that would take induced current from the lines to use for his house. Free electricity, right??
Nope - he had to pay for all the years that he used the power, and was charged with "theft of services".
I never heard about the results of the charges.
Doug0 -
quote:Originally posted by zipperzap
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."A required element of any offense is that there must be a victim. In the case of fraudulently accessing a privately owned computer system the victim is it's owner, not the state.
The Chief might've sworn out an arrest warrant affidavit, but a representative of this business would've first been required to sign a criminal complaint in order to get this ball rolling.
The business owner admits they weren't even aware this was an offense, yet they were willing to file a criminal charge against the guy instead of just warning him away. They're the bigger tool in this fiasco.0 -
If your apple tree hangs over my property I am intitled to all of the apple overhanging my property,I see this the same way if your radio waves encroach public property, then they are public, same with the ac power waves [unless there is an easment]. 0 -
I agree this is a BS application of this law, and it is outrageous that this could be considered a felony. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by jonk
The way I see it it is like Radio. Once it is out in the air, and NOT SECURED then anyone is free to intercept and use it as they will.
This is a fallacy I have to explain to folks way too often.
If you bootleg music from a radio program and sell the tape or CD to your buds as a "Best of My Basement" mix, you are in violation of copyright laws.
If you bootleg the Rush Limbaugh show, which is copyrighted, you're in violation...
Radio waves are free to listen to.
Period.0 -
Hmm that is how I surf the web at work and check my email. The restaurant next door has free wifi for their customers and I hook up to that from my desk. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by Colonel Plink
Radio waves are free to listen to.
Period.In Michigan you apparently aren't allowed to view them either, even if you aren't redistributing in any manner.
This portion of what was apparently intended to be an anti-hacking law is a turd that's just waiting to be fought and overturned, but the coffee shop owner is also a huge turd for being willing to send someone to prison for what this guy did. None of this could've happened without their signature on a criminal complaint form.0 -
Since he's now a felon, no more guns for him.....
I feel much safer now0 -
We got so many dat blamed laws nowadays Im not sure one minute to the next if I am breaking a law. This is a great way to turn people into convicted felons while the real asses lurk around in the bushes for you me and our loved ones. Knuckleheaded cops, yep. 0 -
I am a spammer punk. Please don't contact me through the email link and tell me what a slime I am. 0 -
Oops!
We got us a spammer, here, folks.
Get a rope.0 -
This IS BS!
The guy obviously did not show malicious intent, and it would BS for him not to fight back.0 -
quote: ... and they call Californians nuts!
Theres a difference, had this man been caught in California doing his crime he would of recieved capital punishment. They probally would have pushed by the execution date of a multiple kiddy raper/murder illegal alien back to squeeze him in. [:o)][:D]0 -
[:D][:D][:D] 0 -
I think it is a felony because it's harder for homeland scrutiny to trace them. 0 -
That's why I'm not wireless. 0 -
" If your apple tree hangs over my property I am intitled to all of the apple overhanging my property,I see this the same way if your radio waves encroach public property, then they are public, same with the ac power waves [unless there is an easment]."
Wrong on so many counts, I have a hard time believing that's what you really think.
First off: there is ALWAYS an easement where powerlines are concerned.
Look at your plot plan and you will see a 5-10' easement on at least one of the sides of your property line. If more than one easement exists; the other is for public utilities.
As far as the apples; what happens when the neighbor parks so one tire is on your property line? Do you then own the car?
The main trouble lies with the provider of the WiFi service; they can't stop those radio waves from extending 300'. Wonder how many other states have this kind of "privacy" law?0 -
shouldn't the shop owner and not the police chief be the one charging him? 0 -
My bet is the police chief pressed the shop owner to pursue the charges.
Sparta is a small town, not much for a chief to do, this is the "crime of the year" there I guess.
Don0 -
It may be the police chief but could be the prosecutor as well. The prosecutor is the chief LE officer in that county.
I think he could theoretically charge what he knows is a felony and compel the shop owner to testify under a subpoena even if the shop owner does not want to prosecute.0 -
Another thought-you may think that it is too harsh in this instance (and I do as well) you may want to consider if this guy was using YOUR WIFI to download child porn-you might see it in a whole different light-especially when someone is knocking on your door to ask YOU about it.
The prosecutor's job is to sort out the crimes that should be charged from the ones that shouldn't.
And a jury should be the final step in the weeding out process if the prosecutor doesn't do his job.0 -
quote:Originally posted by choooper
I am a spammer punk. Please don't contact me through the email link and tell me what a slime I am.
Then stop spamming.0
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