ECJ decision might significantly expand WiFi across Europe

In a preliminary opinion, the Advocate General of the European Court of Justice has declared that operators of free public WiFi cannot be held accountable for copyright infringements committed by users of their networks. This opinion could lead to a significant expansion of public WiFi access points in Europe, ‘potentially to the point that free Wi-Fi could become commonly available across European commercial/retail environments.’ The opinion of the court particularly states that the right to privacy of communications should not be compromised by the surveillance by WiFi operators in search of copyright infringement.