The Spy Act
By David
Fishman
In June of 2004, the
anti-spyware bill called "Securely Protect Yourself Against
Cyber Trespass Act" (SPY Act: HR 2929)
was voted on
in the energy Commerce Committee.
This is
the
House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
This Act
was approved by
a vote of
45 to 4, however it was going to be deliberated at a
House-of-Representatives plenary session
at a later date.
https://www.lynxtrack.com/signup.php
Now recognized in the subcommittee, the SPY Act was recognized
as making the law, that
to legally place software on a consumer desktop a company needed
too clearly
obtain
a
user's consent
at the time of installation for each specific
type of software.
In the spyware workshop held in April, this
year, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) expressed the view
"the legal regulation on spyware had no necessity."
In other
words, current legislation is enough to help the FTC regulate
this industry.
This week,
the regulation bill
of the SPY ACT
was approved at the U.S. House-of-Representatives plenary
session.
The Act includes fines of up to $3 million dollars for an
infraction.
The
vote passed by a resounding victory of 399 to 1
in favor of the Act.
The proposed ACT (HR2929) currently called Spy
Act (Securely Protect Yourself Against Cyber Trespass Act) is
using, as its base, the spyware regulation proposal
by
Senator Mary Bono of California.
At the time of draft
this Act does not provide a clear process of how a company must
obtain consent from a consumer prior to the software
acquisition.
HR 2929,
which has passed through the energy Commerce Committee, serves
as a regulation bill centering on the Federal Trade Commission
(FTC), and is
determined to find a way to protect the consumer
from unfair business practices that can harm their personal
computer.
It is expected that the President
will sign this bill into law within the next 6 months if not
sooner. At that time the download space and the companies
involved will need to change their business practices to fit the
current law. Right now it is not illegal for a company to
download software onto a computer without explicit consent.
There may be moral issues involved, but it is not currently
illegal. No matter what opinion one holds about spy ware, it is
important for this industry to have regulation so that it is
clear what rules of business are allowable. The regulation will
force consolidation, but it will also strengthen the space in
the long term.
David Fishman
dfishman@wrpmedia.com
