A research group put up a public Wi-Fi hotspot in London to see how careless people were with their browsing habits. The “give up your child” clause was in the oft-neglected “terms and conditions” page that popped up before users signed on.

The researchers disabled that page shortly after the experiment began, but they still found troubling results. 250 people connected to the free network without even realizing it, they said. And 32 megabytes of data were stolen by the researchers (and immediately destroyed).

The experiment was meant to simulate the way actual hackers can steal data, according to CNET.

“It’s time to shift public perception of ‘free’ Wi-Fi,” Sean Sullivan, one of the researchers, told CBS News.

Read CNET's full story here.

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Members of the conversion crew take a break as the main scoreboard is lowered to the floor to be worked on as the arena gets ready for the next concert at State Farm Arena, Thursday, October 2, 2025, in Atlanta. The crew was working on creating a stage for the Friday, Oct. 3 Maxwell concert. (Jason Getz/AJC)

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com