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House Passes Spyware Bills

Posted by samzenpus on from the listen-to-the-law dept.

stinerman writes "Today the house passed two bills aimed at stopping spyware / adware and unauthorized use of computers. H.R. 29 makes it 'unlawful for any person who is not the owner or authorized user of a protected computer to engage in deceptive acts or practices'. H.R. 744 (I-SPY Act) prohibits accessing a protected system via code copied on to the system to, among other things, disseminate personal information. Both bills sailed through the house and are expected to be passed by the Senate."

4 of 226 comments (clear)

  1. Spyware with permission? by Kinky+Bass+Junk · · Score: 5, Interesting

    What about spyware that asks permission before it installs, like Gator and all that. Is that sorta thing covered in this?

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  2. Unenforceable? by Dancin_Santa · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This is a great step, if only in spirit.

    When the spammers and spyware makers start getting fined and sent to jail I think we'll have something to crow about.

    Until then, it's just a feelgood law.

  3. Unintended consquences by lotussuper7 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Well, I'm not the legal wizard, but the first thing I thought about was will these bills have unintended consequences like the DMCA?

    I'm sure that Congress-critters didn't intend companies using the DMCA as an agressive legal weapon it has become.

    What twists will these bill's be given to turn them into tools for the harassment of honest people?

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  4. What about non-US spyware? by skiman1979 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    What about spyware coming from non-US systems? US law does not govern these systems. What happens then if I get hit with spyware from some other country?

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