Those against piggybacking say this practice does have a cost for those paying for wireless services because their broadband connections are slowed down by additional piggybacker traffic, sometimes so much so that the access becomes unusable. Others argue that taking or borrowing without permission is unethical and that lack of security to not justify unauthorized access. Anti-piggybackers want laws to be introduced to prevent piggybacking just like unauthorized access to other types of property (Ethical dilemmas of unsecured wireless networks).

Some local governments agree with sentiments against piggybacking and are enacting laws to stop it. For instance, the local government in Westchester County, N.Y. enacted a county-wide law requiring all commercial businesses to secure their wireless LAN access and to post signs on the wall to advise the user to "install a firewall or other computer security measure" (Local govts. target Wi-Fi piggybacking, 2007). The state of New York is considering similar legislation. Recently, California passed the "Wi-Fi User Protection Bill," which requires manufacturers to provide security warnings and advice in the products they sell. California's AB215 forces wireless LAN vendors to either put a security warning sticker on the wireless router that presents an installation message advising that it's time to secure the network, or to secure the wireless LAN through a service. Some believe that California's new legislation will impact the entire country because manufacturers are likely to change all of their equipment, not just...

target Wi-Fi piggybacking, 2007).
As we have seen, other than weak efforts by local government in California and New York, laws against shared access don't exist. It seems ridiculous to try to use our overcrowded judicial system to deal with this issue even if more strict laws were developed. Technology created the shared access and, ultimately, technology will have to be the vehicle by which access is restricted to authorized users. As long as doors are left open, people will enter.

Bibliography

Ethical dilemmas of unsecured networks. http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:4n6xx5jhPTwJ:www.csd.abdn.ac.uk/~fguerin/teaching/CS5038/assessment/essays_from_2006/groupK/WiFi%2520Essay.doc+%22open+networks%22+ethics&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=24

Issues with wireless networking at CWRU. (2001, February 14). http://tiswww.case.edu/net/engr/wireless/issues.html

Local govts. target Wi-Fi piggybacking (2007, January 9). ZDNet Government. http://government.zdnet.com/?p=2828

Marriott, M. (2006, March 5). Hey neighbor, stop piggybacking on my wireless. The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/05/technology/05wireless.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5089&en=de3c127408552e0a&ex=1299214800

Savvas, a. (2006, July 10). It firms admit struggle to secure wireless Lans. ComputerWeekly.com. http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2006/07/10/216815/it-firms-admit-struggle-to-secure-wireless-lans.htm

WiFi. http://www.answers.com/topic/wifi