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House Passes Another Spyware Bill

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the federal-pound-me-in-the dept.

SkippyTPE writes "The AP reports that the US House of Representatives has unanimously passed a law criminalizing Spyware. This is the second such bill in two days (the first imposing civil penalties, whereas this bill imposes criminal penalties). Information on the bills (HR2929 and HR4661) can be found here and here respectively."

2 of 285 comments (clear)

  1. RTFS... by plover · · Score: 5, Informative
    The AP reports that the US House of Representatives has unanimously passed a law

    No, the AP correctly reported that the house passed a BILL. A BILL is not a LAW until it passes through the entire congress and the president signs it. (Remember the Schoolhouse Rock song, "I'm just a Bill"?)

    --
    John
  2. Re:Maybe another Law isn't necessary by drinkypoo · · Score: 4, Informative

    I hope you were kidding. If not, let me tell you why your idea won't work.

    1. MAC addresses do not propagate beyond a local network segment. They are used only for Ethernet. Outside of a specific physical (or certain types of logical) ethernet network, you'll never see someone's MAC.
    2. MAC addresses can be changed. Almost all hardware allows this, including antiquated Sun equipment from the days when MACs were supposedly etched in stone. Well, they're actually etched into a PROM which can be rewritten.

    If you were kidding, I apologize. If you weren't kidding, now you know.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"