[Infowarrior] - Ohio: Single Movie Download Forces Wi-Fi Network Shutdown

[Richard Forno]

Sure, Sony can complain, but you gotta hand it to the IT department  
for totally overreacting, eh?

  --rf



Single Movie Download Forces Wi-Fi Network Shutdown
http://freakbits.com/single-movie-download-forces-wi-fi-network-shutdown-1110

November 10, 2009, by enigmax8
A free Wi-Fi service said to be used by hundreds of people has been  
completely disabled after a complaint was made to the operating ISP by  
Sony Pictures.

OneCommunity is an award-winning, non-profit organization serving  
Northern Ohio by connecting public and non-profit institutions to  
their fiber-optic network, fostering economic development.

One project was completed around five years ago, offering a free and  
open Wi-Fi network serving the area outside Coshocton’s County  
Courthouse.

Last week, the network – said to be used by hundreds of people – was  
completely shut down by the county’s Information Technology  
Department, after Sony Pictures tracked one user sharing a single  
movie and issued a complaint.

Aside from use by the public, Coshocton’s Sheriff’s department is said  
to have used the network to file incident reports, with traders using  
it to check the validity of customer credit cards.

Of course, the MPAA was quick to offer its usual hard-luck stories for  
the article in the Coshocton Tribune.

Taking down the entire network over a single infringement is a  
ridiculous knee-jerk reaction which amounts to collective punishment,  
but in the face of intimidating threats by a powerful company like  
Sony, the county obviously felt it was left with little choice.

Let’s hope they don’t ban all cars from the street outside if someone  
exceeds the speed limit.