--- Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 16:28:46 -0500 Subject: First ever charge in Canada of "Theft of Telecommunications" From: David Akin <david@private> To: "Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list" <Declan@private> Hey Declan -- Toronto police arrested a man this week and laid what is believed to be the first-ever charge of "Theft of Telecommunications". The case involves accusations of child porn and unauthorized Wi-Fi use. This charge is a bit murky from a legal standpoint. The police cannot say who the victim of the theft was. At the press conference announcing the charge, they could not say if the telecommunications services that were stolen were owned by a residence or a business. (The individual charged was in a residential area, however, so it seems to a decent assumption that it was a home.) It raises some questions for Wi-Fi users in Canada: If you find an open Wi-Fi network and jack in, can you be charged with theft in the absence of a complaint from the owner of those services or even knowledge by the police that your access was unauthorized? One lawyer we interviewed believes that individuals who knowingly leave their networks open for any to use could, in some circumstances, find themselves legally liable if the network is used for an illegal purpose! Links to my CTV report on this; other media reports; and the press release from the Toronto Police Services is at: http://davidakin.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2003/11/23/6793.html -- David Akin ----------------- CTV News The Globe and Mail ----------------- Office: 416.313.2503 Mobile: 416.528.3819 ----------------- Complete Contact Information at http://www.davidakin.com _______________________________________________ Politech mailing list Archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Moderated by Declan McCullagh (http://www.mccullagh.org/)
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