Originally shared by Miguel Afonso Caetano"Since this was the situation in the McFadden case, Europe's top court decided he wasn't liable. But the implications of the ruling are likely to trouble individuals who care about protecting their privacy on such networks.
The court said that "an injunction ordering the Internet connection to be secured by means of a password is capable of ensuring a balance between, on the one hand, the intellectual property rights of rightholders and, on the other hand, the freedom to conduct a business of access providers and the freedom of information of the network users."
It added that in order to deter network users from infringing intellectual property rights, the Wi-Fi provider should—where a court has intervened—"require users to reveal their identity" before giving them the password. The CJEU said:"
The court said that "an injunction ordering the Internet connection to be secured by means of a password is capable of ensuring a balance between, on the one hand, the intellectual property rights of rightholders and, on the other hand, the freedom to conduct a business of access providers and the freedom of information of the network users."
It added that in order to deter network users from infringing intellectual property rights, the Wi-Fi provider should—where a court has intervened—"require users to reveal their identity" before giving them the password. The CJEU said:"
Wi-Fi providers not liable for copyright infringements, rules top EU court