Anti-Spyware Bill Put Forward In US Senate

by Glen Shapiro, LawAndTax-News.com, New York

08 March 2004

Senators Conrad Burns (R-Montana), Ron Wyden (D-Oregon)and Barbara Boxer (D-California) have put forward legislation designed to restrict the use of Spyware and Adware software, which can be used by companies to collect information on individuals or businesses through their computers, without their knowledge.

The SPYBLOCK (Software Principles Yielding Better Levels of Consumer Knowledge) Act will force companies using Spyware to obtain the consent of those whose computers they are trying to infiltrate, and will require the inclusion of an 'Uninstall' function in all such software.

Explaining the reasoning behind the introduction of the Act, Senator Burns observed that:

"Computer users should have the same amount of privacy on-line as they do when they close the blinds in the windows of their house. But this is not the case, as computers across the country are being hijacked everyday as users unknowingly download unwanted and deceitful programs that spy into their on-line world. Computer users must have some sort of defence against these sneaky programs hiding in the shadows of their machines."

If approved, the Bill would be enforced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in conjunction with state attorneys general.

However, critics of the proposed legislation have pointed to the fact that the use of Spyware and Adware is an international problem, and that action taken in the United States will not be effective against software attacks generated elsewhere in the world.

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