A Michigan man is being prosecuted for using a cafe’s free WiFi… from his car. Sam Peterson was arrested under a Michigan law barring access to anyone else’s network without authorization, according to Michigan TV station WOOD. Since the cafe’s WiFi network was reserved for customers, and Peterson never came into the cafe, he was essentially piggybacking off of the open network without authorization.

The arrest came about because Peterson apparently showed up to the Union Street Cafe to use its free WiFi from the comfort of his car, and he did so every single day. A police officer grew suspicious of Peterson and eventually questioned him as to what he was up to. Peterson, not realizing that what he was doing was (at least) ethically questionable, told the officer exactly what he was doing. “I knew that the Union Street had WiFi. I just went down and checked my e-mail and didn’t see a problem with that,” Peterson told a reporter.

Under Michigan’s “Fraudulent access to computers, computer systems, and computer networks” law, Peterson’s actions could result in a five-year felony and a $10,000 fine. However, prosecutors do not plan to throw the book at him, as they don’t believe that Peterson was aware he was even breaking the law. Instead, he will pay a $400 fine and do 40 hours of community service, and the arrest will not go on his record.

Source and More : http://arstechnica.com

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