[brityank]

Now Google claims the lawsuit is "without merit" as it argued that open Wi-Fi networks were like "radio communications."

... you flip open your laptop and begin surfing the internet's best, most awesome website, Freerepublic.com, ...

Ahh - but the difference is that Google is purposefully acquiring and selling the data it is recovering in its wardriving. It's not considered illegal for you to listen in on on unencrypted radio - it is illegal for you to take any action, including rebroadcasting or direct profit from knowledge thus gained. That is where Google fails, IMHO.

[LibWhacker]

It isn't illegal for me to listen in on an unencrypted radio broadcast, but it is illegal for me to wiretap someone. That's what the judge seems to be saying happened here... Someone actually "wiretapped" someone else, and anyone can be convicted of that (profiteer or not) ... Federal wiretap sanctions kick in.

But it is nearly impossible to tell from a newspaper account of the ruling.

Clearly, if someone decrypts a wifi broadcast, or otherwise deliberately frustrates the owner's attempt to secure the connection, that's dodgy as hell and should be prosecuted. But the judge rather pointedly says sniffing an open connection can also constitute an act of wiretapping.