Sen. Edwards Intro's 'Spyware Control Act'
By Brian Krebs, Newsbytes
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A.,
09 Oct 2000, 3:29 PM CST
Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., introduced legislation on Friday that would
force software manufacturers to notify consumers when their products
include "spyware," bits of code that surreptitiously transmit
information about the user's Web surfing habits back to the software
company.
"I have been closely following the privacy debate for some time now,
and I am struck by how often I discover new ways in which our privacy
is being eroded," Edwards said Friday in a speech introducing his
bill. "Spyware is among the more startling examples of how this
erosion is occurring."
Under S. 3180, the "Spyware Control and Privacy Protection Act,"
manufacturers that build spyware into their products must give
consumers clear and conspicuous notice - at the time of installation -
that the software contains spyware. Such a notice would describe what
information would be collected and to whom it would be sent. The
spyware would then be forced to lie dormant unless the consumer
chooses to enable it.
Edwards' bill comes at a time when many producers of free software -
called "freeware" - are taking heat for building tiny spyware programs
into their products. Software manufacturers argue that the programs
are geared only at improving advertising returns, and many freeware
titles, including RealDownload, Intuit's Quicken, Netscape's AOL Smart
Download, and NetZip's Download Demon - now include advertisements
within their program's window.
Edwards said that in addition to notice and choice, his bill would
give consumers the benefit of the remaining two "Fair Information
Practices" endorsed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC): Access and
Security. Under S. 3180, software users would have the ability to find
out what information has been collected about them and to correct any
errors.
The bill also would force software manufacturers to ensure that the
information gleaned from spyware products was properly encrypted and
adequately insulated from malicious hackers.
Edwards said his bill contains some "common sense exceptions" to the
notice and consent requirements. S. 3180 would exempt spyware used to
gather information that would only be used to provide technical
support for the software, or to determine if a given user is a
licensed user of the product. The notice and choice provisions would
also be waived for employers using spyware to monitor Internet usage
by their employees.
S. 3180 also gives users a private right of action to sue a software
maker that violates its own policy. Under Edwards' bill, consumers
could seek redress of up to $500,000 per violation.
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