UK WiFi Provider Keeps Sewers Clean By Tricking Customers

Category: Networking
Posted: July 18, 2017 11:25AM
Author: scr4wl

Customers in the United Kingdom unknowingly agreed to perform one thousand hours of community service in exchange for using a public WiFi hotspot. The WiFi provider, Purple, decided to sneak the clause into its terms and conditions, knowing that most people would never read it. In what has been described as a, "technically legally binding agreement," users agreed to unclog sewers and scrape gum off the streets. The list of duties also included cleaning up animal litter, cleaning portable bathrooms, painting snail shells to brighten their existence, and hugging stray cats and dogs.

Purple reportedly performed the hoax in order to show that users may be agreeing to things they would not like in those pesky terms and conditions. Examples could be granting access to private information, or providing data of your web browsing habits. In addition to the hoax, the WiFi provider also included a clause stating that you would be given a prize if you actually read the terms and conditions. It appears as though only one person actually claimed this prize.

Source: UPI