Marriott’s petition argues that hotels should be able to control the internet on their properties in order to ensure reliability and security of the Wi-Fi service that they provide to guests. The petition states that hotels are concerned with managing bandwidth and preventing cyber-crime.
A lawyer’s opinion suggests that they Marriott’s argument is legally unsound and harmful to consumers. Allowing hotels to block personal hotspots would give hotels a monopoly on internet access and open the possibility of censorship, which would be inconvenient for vacationers and possibility prohibitive for business travelers.
Several corporations weighed in during the comment period, which closed in December.
