Liability for interference: What is it? Am I legally protected?

Would you like to offer free WiFi for your customers in your shop? But you've already heard of warnings because guests have carried out illegal downloads. That's when we talk about the so-called “liability for interference.” In the following article, we would like to briefly explain what exactly this is about.

What is liability for interference?

In German law, liability for interference is referred to as the responsibility of a disruptor, state disruptor or co-disruptor. Anyone who has any deliberate, direct, causal and appropriate connection between the action of an injured party and the resulting damage may be held responsible. This means that the subscriber is responsible for legal violations caused by his Internet connection.

How do violations of rights occur?

• Illegally downloading/streaming movies or music
• (Child) pornographic content
• Buying illegal products via your connection, etc.

This legal situation is causing the current very poor WLAN coverage in Germany, especially by international standards. Very few restaurants offer free WiFi. If they do, it is usually expensive and limited in time, or unprotected and not legally secure. One example of this is the “guest WiFi” function that some routers offer. Although this function separates the guests from the main network, the Internet connection is still the same and it still applies: the connection owner is liable. Since the beginning of March, the draft update to the WLAN Act has been discussed in the German Bundestag. More about that in next week's post.Would you like to offer your guests secure and reliable Internet? Use Socialwave's hotspot solution. Vector graphic created by Freepik