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The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a bill saying that anyone offering an open Wi-Fi connection to the public must report illegal images including "obscene" cartoons and drawings--or face fines of up to $300,000.

That broad definition would cover individuals, coffee shops, libraries, hotels, and even some government agencies that provide Wi-Fi. It also sweeps in social-networking sites, domain name registrars, Internet service providers, and e-mail service providers such as Hotmail and Gmail, and it may require that the complete contents of the user's account be retained for subsequent police inspection.


This is stupid, unworkable, and betrays a deep ignorance about how these things -- especially wi-fi spots -- actually work. Which makes it a fit product for this Congress. . .
via Glenn Reynolds

since when are obscene cartoons and drawings illegal?

This is all Horatio Hornblower's falt

If this bill became law it would probably mean the end of Wi-Fi in public places, as no business could afford the risk.

I think the big scary fine would intimidate some people as to whether they would offer it, but what I'm reading doesn't require monitoring just reporting if they become aware. Something I think we're supposed to do anyway. Seems unenforceable and unnecessary.

The cartoon/drawing thing would be new but the SCOTUS has ruled on that already. It wouldn't stand unless you think the court would reverse itself.

It's a weird bill. I don't get it, other than pandering. Who's gonna vote against 'Think of the Children' during an election cycle?

What happened to the guy who was arrested for "stealing" a wifi signal outside a cafe? The cafe was "featured" on The Daily Show (or was it Colbert?)