German government opens way for widening of free public Internet access

BERLIN (Reuters) - The German government approved plans on Wednesday that mean providers of free Wi-Fi will no longer be liable for crimes committed by users, opening the way for a widening of the public network of free internet across the country. Under current laws, providers of public Wi-Fi can be held responsible for crimes such as copyright offences committed by users. That is why the providers make users agree to waive the network owner's responsibilities. Germany is one of few countries in Europe where such a procedure is needed. It has been cited as a big hurdle for the roll-out of fast network connections in Germany, Europe's biggest economy. The proposals, which are expected to come into effect this year after winning parliamentary approval, are part of the government's Digital Agenda, which aims among other goals to provide all households with download speeds of at least 50 megabits per second by 2018. Germany's right-left coalition approved the proposals after the European Court of Justice's advocate-general recommended scrapping the liability of Wi-Fi providers. However, the government may still require providers to end or hinder any legal infringements by users. Bitkom, Germany's IT, telecoms and new media industry association, welcomed the decision, saying it would open the way to building a nationwide network of Wi-Fi hotspots. (Reporting by Thorsten Severin; Writing by Joseph Nasr; Editing by Gareth Jones)