Anti-Spyware Bill Passes 45-4, Will Assist Every PC User in the Country

"The overwhelmingly bipartisan passage of this bill denotes the seriousness of the threat spyware poses to our personal information.  These provisions will protect American consumers from unwelcome tracking or hijacking of their internet activities, and bring to a halt an intrusive practice which affects every PC user in the country," said U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas.  The committee voted 45-4 to send the anti-spyware bill to the full House.

Spyware, which can be downloaded onto a user's personal computer by a third party without their knowledge, can in its extreme versions enable the owner to track and gather data regarding a user's whereabouts and keystrokes while online.  Spyware can also expose children to offensive on-line material through pop-ups or 'browser hijacking' - the practice of a site changing the settings on the computer of a site visitor without permission.  The prolific amounts of spyware attached to users can overwhelm an operating system and shut down the computer.

This bill, authored by Reps. Mary Bono, R-Calif., and Ed Towns, D-N.Y., would prevent spyware purveyors from hijacking a home page or tracking users' keystrokes.  It requires that spyware programs be easily identifiable and removable, and allows for collection of personal information only after express consent from the user.  Additionally, fines are exponentially increased against abusers.

Barton expressed appreciation for the intensive work U.S. Reps. John Dingell, D-Mich., Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., Bono and Towns and their staffs put into the formulation of this package.  "They worked across party lines to operate an open and inclusive process, welcoming the input of members, industry, associations, agencies and consumers, and have developed a successful balance of protecting privacy while facilitating technological advancement."

Anti-spyware legislation has also been introduced in the Senate by U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont.  

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