Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online
Preventing people from using their personal Wi-Fi hotspots is illegal, and businesses attempting to do so will be prosecuted, US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) officials warned in a public notice issued on Tuesday.
In the notice, the agency said that its enforcement bureau has been witnessing a “disturbing trend” in which hotels and other commercial enterprises were preventing customers from using personal Wi-Fi hotspots on their premises. It also threatened that it would be aggressively investigating reports of any such issues, and would take action against those responsible.
“Personal Wi-Fi networks, or ‘hot spots,’ are an important way that consumers connect to the Internet,” the FCC wrote in a document referred to as an enforcement advisory. “Willful or malicious interference with Wi-Fi hot spots is illegal. Wi-Fi blocking violates Section 333 of the Communications Act, as amended.”
“The Enforcement Bureau has seen a disturbing trend in which hotels and other commercial establishments block wireless consumers from using their own personal Wi-Fi hot spots on the commercial establishment’s premises” it added. “As a result, the Bureau is protecting consumers by aggressively investigating and acting against such unlawful intentional interference.”
FCC officials have already taken action against one hotel chain, Marriott International, Inc., after they used a Wi-Fi deauthentication tool to block customers from using personal hot spots at Nashville’s Gaylord Opryland Hotel & Convention Center, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Marriott agreed to pay a $600,000 civil penalty to settle the matter, but teamed up with a hotel industry group, the American Hotel & Lodging Association, to petition the FCC to change its policy. However, Tuesday’s announcement made the agency’s position on the matter very clear – it had no intention of permitting businesses to interfere with public internet use.
According to CNET, Marriott argued that it had acted lawfully, and asserted that devices that can be used to create personal hotspots can create a security issue. However, the FCC said on Tuesday that Marriott later admitted to the agency that customers who had been using the personal hotspots “did not pose a security threat.”
“Consumers must get what they pay for,” FCC chairman Tom Wheeler told The Wall Street Journal. “The Communications Act prohibits anyone from willfully or maliciously interfering with authorized radio communications, including Wi-Fi. Marriott’s request seeking the FCC’s blessing to block guests’ use of non-Marriott networks is contrary to this basic principle.”
“Marriott remains committed to protecting the security of Wi-Fi access in meeting and conference areas at our hotels,” the company said. “We will continue to look to the FCC to clarify appropriate security measures network operators can take to protect customer data, and will continue to work with the industry and others to find appropriate market solutions that do not involve the blocking of Wi-Fi devices.”
After that incident was resolved, the agency said that its enforcement bureau had received several additional complaints that other commercial Wi-Fi network operators may be disrupting the legitimate operation of personal Wi-Fi hot spots. The FCC said that its bureau was investigating those complaints, and that it would take appropriate action against violators.
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