Germany is set to remove legal quirks that hold providers of Wi-Fi hotspots liable for what users that have connected do online, a move Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government hopes will increase free Internet offerings across the country.
Merkel’s cabinet on Wednesday backed a bill that would remove the liability established by Germany’s top civil court in 2010, the government said in a statement. Under the bill, providers won’t be held liable as long as they secure the network properly and get users to agree not to act illegally. The government also backed plans to spur venture-capital funding for startups through tax breaks.