At least five bar owners in Grenoble, France have been arrested for providing WiFi at their businesses without keeping logs. The bar owners were arrested under a 2006 law that technically classifies WiFi hotspot providing establishments as ISPs, and requires them to store one year’s worth of logs or connection records for anti-terrorism purposes. This […]
A possible explanation for this severe enforcement of the law is that it could be related to other law violations, such as drug dealing.
(See comments on the NextInpact article (in French).)
I figure that it the business owners getting in trouble with the law are the ones that have had something like this go on in or around them. (Or more powerful individuals just don’t like them)
But it is wrong for law enforcement to have this sort of law on the books in the first place imo. If you need to go after someone harming people, actually go after them. No privacy harming law needed.
Especially when this law is rather unknown to the public. Making it more useful as a gotcha than anything else.
A possible explanation for this severe enforcement of the law is that it could be related to other law violations, such as drug dealing.
(See comments on the NextInpact article (in French).)
I figure that it the business owners getting in trouble with the law are the ones that have had something like this go on in or around them. (Or more powerful individuals just don’t like them) But it is wrong for law enforcement to have this sort of law on the books in the first place imo. If you need to go after someone harming people, actually go after them. No privacy harming law needed. Especially when this law is rather unknown to the public. Making it more useful as a gotcha than anything else.