Safe guest WiFi — 4 things to consider

On 22.09.2017, the Federal Council approved the Telemedia Act passed by the Bundestag on 30.06.2017. Among other things, the new law regulates liability for providers of publicly available WLAN and is intended to bring this to an end. The aim was to create security and clarity for restaurateurs, hotels, holiday homes and other providers, for example. But what is the current situation at the beginning of 2018? We would like to give you an overview of what you need to consider when you secure guest WiFi want to offer to your customers.

Secure WiFi for your customers:

1. What was the issue of liability for malfunctions?

The liability for interference meant that the providers of an open guest WLAN could be held liable for illegal activities on this network. For example, if music or films were downloaded illegally on a free WLAN, the connection owner received a warning. If he was unable to prove third-party use, the owner was sometimes asked to pay severe fines. According to the law, it did not matter whether the operator was the polluter. For these reasons, there was and still is hardly any public WiFi in Germany compared to other European countries.

2. What is the current legal status?

The previous liability for interference for providers of open WLAN has been abolished since the amended Telemedia Act. But that is not the end of the problem once and for all. Instead of liability for interference, operators are required to block certain content, so-called network blocks, in cases of misuse. If illegal Internet activity is detected in an open network, the provider may be required to permanently prevent access to certain content. If this does not take place, the Operators remain liable.

3. Who is the contact person in case of legal violations?

In the event of legal violations, the subscriber is always the first point of contact and receives possible reminders. If violations are discovered, there is usually no further information available apart from the IP address of the connection. Law firms that deal with copyright infringements, for example, only have the IP address to effectively enforce network blockages. With the Socialwave guest WiFi Are you able to identify the devices for the corresponding period of an infringement without any problems and can forward them to the appropriate authority. This protects you from penalties in a legally secure manner.

4. Protection for your internal network?

In order to protect your own network from attacks, it is important to provide guests with a separate network. This protects your data and devices such as cash registers, tablets and office computers from possible hacker attacks. With an independent Socialwave network, you can provide your guests with WiFi and don't have to worry about possible attacks.

Our tip: Always separate your internal network from a potential network for your customers.

With our WLAN marketing package, your customers/patients/guests advertise for you, are happy and recommend you to others.