FCC Investigating Hot Spot Blocking

Here’s good news for those who spend a lot of time on the road: the FCC has called out Marriott for attempting to block Wi-Fi hotspots in its hotels.

“Personal Wi-Fi networks, or ‘hot spots’ are an important way that consumers connect to the internet,” the FCC noted in a statement. “Willful or malicious interference with Wi-Fi hot spots is illegal” and in violation of the Communications Act. “The Enforcement Bureau has seen a disturbing trend in which hotels and other commercial establishments block wireless consumers from using their own personal Wi-Fi hot spots,” the statement said. “As a result, the Bureau is protecting consumers by aggressively investigating and acting against such unlawful intentional interference.”

Marriott was fined $600,000 for blocking Wi-Fi, CNN’s Money blog reported, and the company petitioned the FCC to change the Communications Act on the basis that guests could launch cyberattacks on the Marriott network and disrupt service. But the complaint turned into a PR nightmare for the hotel chain, and Marriott eventually backed down.

“Marriott International listens to its customers, and we will not block guests from using their personal Wi-Fi devices at any of our managed hotels,” the company announced. The FCC added it’s received additional complaints regarding blocked hot spots at other establishments and investigations are under way.

Daily Pulse