4 ms·

We dont have to prove our innocence now do we? I thought "they" had to prove our guilt. If that has changed, its game over. Seems right to me. Does a burglar g

• icebraining 14y ago
  I don't think the person using the WiFi to infringe would "get off" in any case. Just that the WiFi owner would be guilty too. A better analogy is: if you leave your car unlocked and it gets stolen, are you also (besides the thief) liable for any damages that the thief might do with it?
  • rdtsc 14y ago
    Further, if you happen do go and do a lot of damage with your car, make sure to also leave your car open so that you can say that it could have been someone else doing the damage. I think deep down that is what the courts are afraid. They are afraid that cyber-crime will run rampant and they won't be able to earn their keep by prosecuting anyone because of altruistic individuals who wish to share their internet connection freely with the world. Then of course, the fear is that criminal will also open up their WiFi connections so as to provide a plausible deniability to their crimes.
• rmc 14y ago
  No you don't have to prove your innocence per se, but it would be good to be able to prove that you had an open wifi. If you could not, the prosecution could show that the default for your wifi box is encrypted, and hence it's reasonable to assume it wasn't open. This is basically like trying to prove your alibi. Does a burglar get off if we leave our back door unlocked? Not that I know of. Burgely no. However sometimes in sexual assault/rape cases, the perpetrator gets off based on what the victim was wearing/doing (thankfully this is decreasing).