Intellectual Property Law

Culver City Offers Free Wi-fi ‘EnterNot’ Access

Culver City is offering public wi-fi access to the Internet with two big caveats: It’s not really the Internet, and to use it you agree to give up your civil rights.

That’s right. First, they offer Internet access, but you must agree to “limited” Internet access. And they don’t mean limited hours of the day, limited locations, or a limited amount of time you can be on. No, when they say “limited,” they mean that they will censor access to parts of the Internet. (”By using this free wireless network you are agreeing and acknowledging you have read and accepted these terms and conditions of use, and this wireless network provides only limited access to the Internet.”) In other words, they do not offer Internet access at all. As the Dynamic Platform Standards Project points out so well, anyone offering access to a “limited Internet” is engaged in false and deceptive advertising because a “limited Internet” is an oxymoron.

Second, in order to gain the right to enjoy this free, public, non-Internet access, no matter what you read in the Bill of Rights (and the First Amendment, in particular) you must agree that the government may abridge your freedom of speech and you further agree that when it does so (as it promises to do), you will not exercise your right to sue for the violation of your First Amendment rights!

I’m not making this up. Here’s the fine print: “Further, [by using it] you are agreeing to waive any claims, including, but not limited to First Amendment claims, that may arise from the City and Agency’s decision to block access to … matter and websites [of its choosing] through this free wireless network ….”

From a legal standpoint, it is the same as if the Culver City public library were offering you free access to newspapers, but was first clipping out the articles it didn’t like and making you agree not to sue for censorship if you wanted to read what was left.

It’s starting to look like 1984. “Freedom” means freedom to give up your inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness if you want to have free access to the government’s Internet - or “EnterNot,” as the Culver City leadership might call it. I’m a big fan of free, public Internet access, but without the Doublespeak.

Full post as published by CopyOwner on August 29, 2006 (boomark / email).