Spyware Bills
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill that outlaws technology that downloads programs without users permission.
The Representatives bill, SPY ACT (Securely Protect Yourself Against Cyber Trespass) H.R.2929 passed 399-1 (wouldn't it be interesting to know who didn't vote for it) is being pushed by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce chairman Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas). The bill also addresses hijacking, pop-ups that spawn other pop-ups (popular with porn sites, pun intended), changing setting (such as in resetting a users home page) and capturing personal information without permission.
The U.S. Senate's bill passed by the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation on September 22 is known as the SPY BLOCK Act (Software Principles Yielding Better Levels of Consumer Knowledge) S.2145 and is sponsored by Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Montana). The SPY BLOCK bill is similar but independent from the House SPY ACT bill. The Senate isn't scheduled to vote on the bill as of now.
Congress is scheduled to vote on the I-SPY Act (Internet Spyware Prevention) H.R. 4661 today. This bill deals with the criminal penalties for those who violate proposed spyware laws. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission would be responsible for enforcement of the laws.
While it's possible that all of this is good legislation, the frustrating part is that the House and Senate are both hell-bent on getting their own bills passed while claiming their willingness to work with each other. All of this while congress votes on what the penalties should be. Sounds like they're putting the cart before the horse. Just get the job done, people.
The Representatives bill, SPY ACT (Securely Protect Yourself Against Cyber Trespass) H.R.2929 passed 399-1 (wouldn't it be interesting to know who didn't vote for it) is being pushed by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce chairman Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas). The bill also addresses hijacking, pop-ups that spawn other pop-ups (popular with porn sites, pun intended), changing setting (such as in resetting a users home page) and capturing personal information without permission.
The U.S. Senate's bill passed by the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation on September 22 is known as the SPY BLOCK Act (Software Principles Yielding Better Levels of Consumer Knowledge) S.2145 and is sponsored by Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Montana). The SPY BLOCK bill is similar but independent from the House SPY ACT bill. The Senate isn't scheduled to vote on the bill as of now.
Congress is scheduled to vote on the I-SPY Act (Internet Spyware Prevention) H.R. 4661 today. This bill deals with the criminal penalties for those who violate proposed spyware laws. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission would be responsible for enforcement of the laws.
While it's possible that all of this is good legislation, the frustrating part is that the House and Senate are both hell-bent on getting their own bills passed while claiming their willingness to work with each other. All of this while congress votes on what the penalties should be. Sounds like they're putting the cart before the horse. Just get the job done, people.
posted by Benjamin at 11:28 AM · link
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