Posted by Virus Bulletin on Apr 1, 2007
Anti-spyware legislation presented in US House of Representatives for third time.
Anti-spyware legislation was presented for the third time in the US House of Representatives last month. The proposed 'Spy Act' ('Securely Protect Yourself Against Cyber Trespass Act') would make it unlawful to install software that gathers information, monitors usage, serves up ads or modifies browser and other settings on the computer without the user's consent. The legislation would afford the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) wider scope to pursue those responsible for spyware, broadening the definition of spyware and allowing the FTC to impose fines of up to $3 million per violation of the act.
However, the Spy Act has twice before been passed by the US House (in 2004 and 2005), but on both occasions faltered once it reached the Senate thanks to opposition from the advertising industry. With the increasing proliferation of spyware, as well as extensive media coverage of legal cases involving spyware (see VB, March 2007, p.12), it is hoped by many that it will be third time lucky for the passing of the Spy Act.
Posted on 01 April 2007 by Virus Bulletin
