Many public places offer free WiFi. The main usability-problem are captive portals imo. Does anyone know of a legal assessment of the necessity of those?
Which bad things would happen if people wouldn't have to click "I agree"?
The WiFi usage terms on ÖBB trains are mostly "stating the obvious":
"By agreeing with the terms of use of the ÖBB WiFi, you shall be obligated to not use this internet access for actions violating laws or public decency, endangering safety or disturbing other passengers."
https://www.oebb.at/en/reiseplanung-services/im-zug/wlan-im-zug/wlan-im-zug
I looked at this from an English law point of view a while back.
The gist - YMMV, not legal advice etc. - was:
* there is no general legal requirement for a captive portal / collection of registration data. It is possible for such an obligation to be imposed, but it must indeed be imposed and notified to the provider.
* a disclaimer / indemnity was likely to be of limited value in terms of establishing legal rights.
* there could still be value from the perspective of setting out rules and expectations in terms of usage.
* it would be worth checking the terms in place with the Internet access provider, to assess risk and contract obligations.
* some providers of Wi-Fi services (e.g. managed WLAN hotspots) require a captive portal contractually, sometimes backed with an indemnity.
@hexmasteen On a related topic:
It's also worth mentioning that, if you do require people provide email addresses or other personal information then you may well now have a bunch of GDPR liabilities.
I have never seen a captive portal on a WiFi thing that both asks for an email address and complies with the GDPR.
@david_chisnall @neil @hexmasteen
I've always assumed in many cases the "free" wifi is often provided by a commercial organisation (perhaps the same one providing wireless EPOS terminals to the business), and the revenue obtained from capturing and selling customer data is used to offset the capital costs of the hardware.
In the case of libraries, Council venues etc the user data is still captured to prove that the service is valuable (especially in these days of austerity where the Council is often trying to cut every service)
Hex
Neil Brown
David Chisnall (*Now with 50% more sarcasm!*)
Alex@rtnVFRmedia Suffolk UK
Mikko Tuumanen