German Federal Court Rules That Internet Connection Is Crucial To Everyday Life

chrism01 · 01-24-2013, 10:39 PM

Quote:

"Internet access is as crucial to everyday life as having a phone connection and the loss of connectivity is deserving of financial compensation, the German Federal Court of Justice has ruled. Because having an internet connection is so significant for a large part of the German population, a customer whose service provider failed to provide connectivity between December 2008 and February 2009 is entitled to compensation, the court ruled today. 'It is the first time the court ruled that an internet connection is as important a commodity as having a phone,' said court spokeswoman Dietlind Weinland. The court, however, denied the plaintiff's request of €50 a day for his fax machine not working."

slashdot.org

Could be good for generating jobs if this becomes common

basisbit · 02-01-2013, 03:43 PM

The only thing this caused here in Germany is that now all ISPs write in their contracts that customers have to pay an extra fee if they want high uptime guaranteed - so nothing really new.

frankbell · 02-01-2013, 10:16 PM

Regardless of the legal shenanigans of the German ISPs, I must commend the German legal system.