[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Sorry, I must be dim this morning... browsing for what? (E-books, I assume.) When you say "unsecured network," are you talking about a particular site, or some branch of the web itself? And by browsing, do you mean just seeing what files are on the network, or opening them, buying them, etc?

Edit: Ah, I see you added specifics while I was responding...

In the U.S., my understanding is that a person who downloads something illegally can be found guilty for possessing illegal material (such as child porn). The owner of the network upon which he downloaded the material can also be held liable for allowing the transmission of said material. So the owner of an unsecured WiFi could be held liable if someone else passed by and downloaded child porn.

This includes WiFi hotspots in public places, which is usually why those either restrict the sites you can access, or require you to register with them for access (even when it is free) for tracking purposes (and, ultimately, to force you to accept all liability).

It seems to be that the onus should be on the WiFi owner to secure their network, if leaving it open could leave them open to prosecution. If they decide to leave it open, it should be legal for people to use it (after all, they are not all doing illegal things).

If the real concern is prosecuting people for downloading illegal material, then an ID system should be in place to allow tracking of downloads right to the individual. (I know how people will feel about that, but it's really the only solution to that problem.)