Packet-Sniffing Laws Murky as Open Wi-Fi Proliferates

Packet-Sniffing Laws Murky as Open Wi-Fi Proliferates | Threat Level | Wired.com.  If users left their WiFi routers open, did Google violate the Federal Wire-Tapping Statute by collecting information from private networks? Some legal pundits think not, as they point to some decisions that leaving the networks open made the packet sniffing legal, if not ethical. At least that is the defense that Google is raising. State statutes, however, like Florida's, are probably going to give Google problems, since they prohibit intercepting traffic from another's network, without any public availability exception. It almost sounds like Google is saying that, as long as someone leaves their front door open, it is okay to walk in and steal property. That defense might work insofar as band-width stealing laws might apply; however, piggybacking on another's network is different from taking and storing data flowing on the network while you are there. This little spat will keep a lot of lawyers busy for a while, which is good for business.