The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has come after Marriott for its alleged practice of blocking guests' mobile hotspots, effectively forcing consumers to connect to the hotel chain's Wi-Fi.
To resolve the FCC investigation, Marriott International and its subsidiary Marriott Hotel Services agreed to pay $600,000. In a Friday release, the FCC said that Marriott employees “used containment features of a Wi-Fi monitoring system…to prevent individuals from connecting to the internet via their own personal Wi-Fi networks.” Consumers and businesses were charged up to $1,000 per device to access Marriott's network, the FCC said.
Marriott was ordered to stop using unlawful Wi-Fi blocking technology and to implement a compliance plan. The matter was brought to the Commission's attention in March 2013, after an individual attending an event at a Tennessee Marriott resort, Gaylord Opryland, complained.
