Man Busted for After-hours Library Wireless Use Won't Be Charged with Theft

-- Library Journal, 3/12/2007

A Palmer, AK man was arrested last month for using the Palmer Library's wireless Internet connection after hours after he was first warned a day earlier not to do so. The initial charge against avid gamer Brian Tanner: theft of services. According to the Anchorage Daily News, Tanner, a 21-year-old who lives at home and whose parents ban computer use after 9 p.m., has sought out wireless networks in his neighborhood and parked near them to pursue gaming. While police said Tanner might be charged with criminal mischief for not obeying the police order, Jennifer Granick of the Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School in California, observed that using unsecured wireless networks is generally not considered a crime.

"Recently we relocated the router to a location which needs a stool to reach, and rather than physically turning it off, we asked IT to program it with the library's hours of operation. Since we have only a part-time IT person, it took a few days for him to get back and do this," library director Pat Kilmain told LJ. "The wireless was open 24/7 during this time, which was probably a week or two. The wireless is again locked down to the library's open hours." Kilmain said the library didn't "offer an opinion about whether he should be charged," but noted that Tanner broke no rules. The Anchorage Daily News reported last Thursday that police finally got the message, concluding they couldn't charge Tanner for theft of services that are otherwise free. Still, he could be charged with trespassing. Meanwhile, several citizens have criticized the police for going too far.