After months of debate on Wi-Fi third-party liability, the German coalition government finally decided on a solution on 11 May 2016. In future, operators of Wi-Fi hotspots will no longer be liable for what users of the hotspot do online. This abolishes so-called third party liability, which was the biggest hurdle for extending Wi-Fi hotspots throughout Germany.
Oliver Süme, eco Director of Policy & Law, praised the move; “From a business perspective this is a very positive development, as Germany has been a real hotspot-free zone for years, compared to other countries.”
This solution is the only practical and appropriate solution from the point of view of the Internet industry. “With this decision small enterprises, in particular, finally have legal certainty. The compromise is long overdue. Now nothing stands in the way of establishing Wi-Fi hotspots throughout the country.”
Up until now, it was often unclear as to when exactly operators of hotspots were liable for any illegal online activities of their users. This stopped many potential operators from setting up a hotspot, in eco’s opinion. According to a study the association commissioned, Germany has been bottom of the list of European countries with public Wi-Fi access for years. The changes to the Telemedia Act were long disputed in government ministries and within the Coalition. Security measures, such as landing pages, were being debated up until the end.
