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Top Web Businesses Oppose Utah Spyware Law

Posted by simoniker on from the online-petitions dept.

theodp writes "According to MediaPost.com: 'Some of the Web's leading content and technology providers have taken action to lobby against Utah's controversial Spyware Control Act, which is awaiting the governor's signature. Web publishers and businesses including AOL, Amazon, Cnet, eBay, Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo! signed a letter to the bill's sponsors arguing that the bill could create serious repercussions for the entire online community. The parties to the letter warned that the bill could interfere with computer security and would also impair the delivery of local, targeted ads'."

13 of 289 comments (clear)

  1. local, targeted ads? by Gr33nNight · · Score: 5, Funny

    ..local, targeted ads..

    So, since I live in Wisconsin, I should be seeing tons of ads for cheese and beer..?

    1. Re:local, targeted ads? by mopslik · · Score: 5, Funny

      So, since I live in Wisconsin, I should be seeing tons of ads for cheese and beer..?

      What about those folks that live in Dildo, Newfoundland?

      Never mind the fact that it's located right next to Spread Eagle...

    2. Re:local, targeted ads? by prockcore · · Score: 4, Funny

      So, since I live in Wisconsin, I should be seeing tons of ads for cheese and beer..?

      No, you should be seeing travel brochures.

  2. Yeah by JoeBaldwin · · Score: 1, Funny

    So we want them to deliver "local targeted ads"?

    FUCK NO!

    We want NO FUCKING ADS AT ALL!!!

    Jesus christ, someone aught to drill into their skulls, maybe they'll find some valuable air which can be released back into the atmosphere...

    --
    I'm amazing. You aren't. SUCK IT
  3. Re:definition of Spyware by DR+SoB · · Score: 4, Funny

    What are you talking about? I mean, I don't get spam anymore since the gov't stepped in, so why would this fail?

    --
    Mod +5 Drunk
  4. My Favorite Part!! by mustangsal66 · · Score: 4, Funny

    (b) recover the greater of:
    (i) actual damages; or
    (ii) $10,000 for each separate violation of this chapter.
    (3) In an action under Subsection (1), a court may:
    (a) increase the damages up to three times the damages allowed by Subsection (2) if the court finds the defendant willfully or knowingly violated this chapter; and
    (b) award costs and reasonable attorney fees to a prevailing party.

    ---
    1: Download adware
    2: Sue
    3: Profit!!!!
    ---
    Bahama vacation here I come!

    --
    Why worry? Each of us is wearing an unlicensed "nucular" accelerator on his back.
    Sig changed for readability by G.W.
  5. Re:So broad, anti-adware and kid-proofing is spywa by squiggleslash · · Score: 3, Funny
    No it couldn't. It specifically says "display an advertisement", and a blank area is clearly not an advertisement by any definition. (And no, before anyone says "But a clever lawyer could argue...", the law doesn't work that way, it never has done. People get so hung up on urban legends about what clever lawyers have done together with righteous anger about laws that have been abused that they assume everything is a matter of lawyers redefining the English language. It almost never works that way.)

    It kind of reminds me of an old Knight-Ridder News Service wire where it was explained why the inscription on the metal bands used by the U.S. Department of the Interior to tag migratory birds had been changed.

    The bands used to bear the address of the Washington Biological Survey, abbreviated

    Wash. Biol. Surv.

    Until the agency received the following letter from a camper:

    Dear Sirs:
    While camping last week I shot one of your birds. I think it was a crow. I followed the cooking instructions on the leg tag and I want to tell you it was horrible.

    The bands are now marked Fish and Wildlife Service.

    --
    You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
  6. Re:So broad, anti-adware and kid-proofing is spywa by BrynM · · Score: 2, Funny
    (1) A person may not:... (c) use a context based triggering mechanism to display an advertisement that partially or wholly covers or obscures paid avertising or other content on an Internet website in a way that interferes with a user's ability to view the Internet website.
    So under this, would Pop-Under Ads be okay? Are MDI and child windows illegal under this bill? Woohoo! The "About Internet Explorer" popup in the help menu is illegal! Hell, the menu itself is illegal if it obscures the web page. And Clippy has finally been outlawed! This will be so much fun! I'm so glad we have politicians who think these things through so we don't have to. I should have never studied IT and went into politics where I can make sweeping technology decisions instead.
    --
    US Democracy:The best person for the job (among These pre-selected choices...)
  7. You don't have to be braindead to get elected... by mcmonkey · · Score: 4, Funny
    But apparently it helps.

    Is this yet another example of technologically illiterate politicians eagerly passing bills without bothering to find out what the law is going to do?

    H2O mixup creates scare

    ALISO VIEJO, Calif. (AP) -- City officials were so concerned about the potentially dangerous properties of dihydrogen monoxide that they considered banning foam cups after they learned the chemical was used in their production.

    Then they learned, to their chagrin, that dihydrogen monoxide -- H2O for short -- is the scientific term for water.

    "It's embarrassing," said City Manager David J. Norman. "We had a paralegal who did bad research."

    I don't fault folks for not knowing what dihydrogen monoxide is, but for charging ahead, guns blazing, completely unburdened by the thought process. Sounds like presidential material to me.

  8. is there any way... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    to give Utah back to Mexico?

  9. Interfere with local, targeted ads? by Infonaut · · Score: 2, Funny
    "and would also impair the delivery of local, targeted ads.."

    Gee, wouldn't THAT suck. Allowing people to use the 'Net without constant harrassment from marketers would surely provoke an outcry from the outraged Net populace.

    --
    Read the EFF's Fair Use FAQ
  10. Re:I don't think it's a big deal. by myowntrueself · · Score: 4, Funny

    Aquateen Hunger Force 'Interfection' episode.

    Wwwyzzardd: "You have been signed up to recieve free emails about other emails."

    'And the surgery to have the implant inserted in the base of your skull is almost painless'

    --
    In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
  11. Re:You don't have to be braindead to get elected.. by crucini · · Score: 2, Funny

    OK, I'll have a shot.
    Honest Views:"I believe in America, in keeping America great, and it standing up for the core beliefs of this great nation. I believe that America is for every American, and nobody should be left behind. I believe that we must work harder than ever to preserve our freedom, build the economy, and defend America."
    Voting Record:Voted YES on the WARMFUZZYBUNNY act, a law that will defend Americans from evildoers. Voted YES on the PROTECTOURECONOMY act, a splendid law that will give $1000 to every American. Voted YES on the STOPTHEIF act, which will defend America's vital intellectual property from cyberthieves so future generations can enjoy our vibrant cultural heritage.
    This is not the place for rhetoric or flag-waving, but I must point out the simple fact that my opponent, while holding the same views and voting for the same bills, is a bad choice because either (a) He has no experience in government at this level or (b) He is a Washington Insider, with more allegiance to lobbyists and special interests than to voters. Amen.