California's state assembly has passed a bill to require makers of Internet access gear to warn consumers of the risks of using unsecured wireless connections, its backers said on Tuesday.
Legislators in both houses of the state legislature voted overwhelmingly in favor or the "Wi-Fi User Protection Bill" to inform users how to secure networks against "piggybacking," or unauthorized sharing of wireless access, said a spokesman for Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, who proposed the bill.
Every year millions more consumers in the United States and worldwide buy Wi-Fi routers in order to turn home broadband cable or telephone links into wireless links, providing Internet access to any computer in the nearby vicinity.
The California bill, which was introduced in April, calls for manufacturers to put warning labels on Wi-Fi network gear to advise consumers in one of four ways. These can include place stickers on the boxes, including them in the setup software, by taking some specific action when setting up the router or through another process that automatically secures the connection without consumer effort.
The bill now goes to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who must sign it before it goes into law.
