Marriott will pay the government $600,000 to settle an investigation of allegations that it tried to keep hotel guests from using their mobile devices as personal Wi-Fi hotspots. The FCC started the investigation after a former guest at Nashville’s Opryland Hotel alleged that Marriott was jamming signals so that he could not substitute his own hotspot for the hotel’s Wi-Fi. According to the FCC, “Marriott has admitted that one or more of its employees used containment features of a Wi-Fi monitoring system at the Gaylord Opryland to prevent consumers from connecting to the Internet via their own personal Wi-Fi networks.”
The Marriott maintains that its actions were lawful, and adds that rogue Wi-Fi hotspots can degrade service (presumably service on its Wi-Fi network) and can invite identity theft. The company said its actions were a way of protecting its customers from these threats.
For a company like Marriott, the $600,000 fine is relatively small, but the issue is a big one. The company is encouraging the FCC to clarify its rules in order to avoid further confusion. Marriott is looking for more direction on whether using containment features of WiFi networks constitutes a violation Section 333 of the government’s Communications Act, which prevents willful interference with radio signals.
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