MESSAGE
| DATE | 2004-06-17 |
| FROM | From: "Inker, Evan"
|
| SUBJECT | Subject: [hangout] U.S. House subcommittee approves spyware bill
|
U.S. House subcommittee approves spyware bill
It would allow $3M fines for illicitly collecting personal data
http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/privacy/story/0,10801,9
3901,00.html?nas=PM-93901
News Story by Grant Gross
JUNE 17, 2004 (IDG NEWS SERVICE) - A U.S. House subcommittee has approved a
spyware bill that would allow fines up to $3 million for collecting personal
information, diverting browsers and delivering some pop-up advertisements to
computer users without their consent.
The Securely Protect Yourself Against Cyber Trespass Act (SPY ACT), which
bears little resemblance to the bill it replaced, would also require
software that collects the personal information of computer users to notify
the users of its installation, get the users' consent before installation
and provide users with easy uninstall options.
SPY ACT was approved by the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and
Consumer Protection today as an amendment to a spyware bill introduced last
year by Rep. Mary Bono (R-Calif.). Bono praised the amendment, offered by
subcommittee chairman Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), as making "substantial
progress in improving" her bill.
Stearns called his amendment an attempt to outlaw bad actions without
outlawing technologies similar to spyware that have legitimate uses, such as
parental monitoring software or antivirus software.
An early version of Bono's original bill, called the Safeguard Against
Privacy Invasions Act, defined all computer programs that transmit
information without action from the user as spyware. But that raised
objections from several IT vendors, including antivirus companies. A later
draft of Bono's bill, which authorized the Federal Trade Commission to
create rules for spyware notice and consent, has several exceptions,
including for parental control software, antivirus software and software
that scans for license compliance.
"While we have wrestled with numerous and thoughtful definitions of what
spyware is or isn't, the simple fact is that everyone has a right to
safeguard their personal property and keep unwanted guests out of their
homes and private lives," Stearns said. "To me, it all comes down to good
manners. When I invite someone into my home, or in this case my computer, I
expect them to behave and leave when asked."
The Stearns amendment allows fines of up to $3 million for actions
unauthorized by a computer's owner, including hijacking browsers, changing a
browser's default home page, changing the security settings of a computer,
logging keystrokes and delivering advertisements that the computer user
can't close without turning off the computer or closing all sessions of the
browser.
The bill requires that computer users be notified and be allowed to give
consent before software that collects and transmits personal information is
installed on their computers. But the notice provision may not be strong
enough, said Ari Schwartz, associate director of the Center for Democracy
and Technology in Washington.
Although the bill requires that the spyware notice to be "distinguished"
from other notices, the spyware notice could end up buried at the end of a
lengthy end-user license agreement, Schwartz said. "Then we end up where we
are now," he said. "Can we do a notice provision that won't confuse
consumers more?"
SPY ACT is now headed to the full House Energy and Commerce Committee. Bono
said she expects the bill to pass through the full committee. "We are one
step closer to restoring safety, confidence and control to consumers when
using their own computers," she said.
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