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FTC Threatens Spyware Distributors With Prison

Posted by Zonk on from the truth-to-the-situation dept.

Federal regulator Mark Pryor, in a Senate Commerce Committee hearing, has stated that spyware distributors should face harsher penalties than fees. His solution: imprisonment. "Federal Trade Commissioner William Kovacic said most wrongdoers in the spyware arena 'can only be described as vicious organized criminals. Many of most serious wrongdoers we observed in this area, I believe, are only going to be deterred if their freedom is withdrawn,' so it's important for the FTC to collaborate on its cases with criminal law enforcement authorities, Kovacic said."

4 of 126 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Making the punishment fit the crime by daterabytez · · Score: 5, Informative

    I think spyware writers are more foul than virus writers: while virus writers do what they do for the technical thrill and bother a lot of people in the process, spyware writers do it just to get money.
    Actually, there was a time when this was probably true, but no longer. A great many viruses and exploits today, well over half, are purely for financial gains. The recent ANI exploit is just one example.

    -Carl
  2. Re:Ubuntu has spyware in it.. by J0nne · · Score: 5, Informative

    How is that spyware? It sends anonymous statistics on what packages you have installed throught apt, and you have to choose to enable it.

    It does exactly what it claims it does, and you really have to go out of your way to enable it (add/remove software>preferences>statistics>enable popularity contest )

    Right under the checkbox there's a clear explanation of what it does:

    To improve the user experience of Ubuntu please take part in the popularity contest. If you do so the list of installes software and how often it was used will be collected and sent anonymously to the uubuntu project on a weekly basis.
     
    The results are used to improve support for popular applications in the search results

    Compare that to Windows update, which 'inspects your system' every time you update, and you have no way to know what exactly it's inspecting, and what it's sending back to MS.

    You're probably trolling, and I'm probably wasting my time, but someone modded you up, so I guess at least one person believed you.

  3. Mark Pryor is a Senator . . . by Dausha · · Score: 3, Informative

    We need better fact checking here. Mark Pryor is the junior senator from Arkansas. The FTC official is William Kovacic.

    --
    What those who want activist courts fear is rule by the people.
  4. Re:Ubuntu has spyware in it.. by WrongSizeGlass · · Score: 3, Informative

    it does absolutely nothing unless you turn it on. If I had a nickel for every time I've used that line on a date I'd be a happy man ;-)


    warning: The above content tests positive for sarcasm and/or is a failed attempt at humor and should be taken with a pound of salt.