VoyForums
[ Show ]
Support VoyForums
[ Shrink ]
VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, [2], 3, 4 ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 11:04:55 10/07/04 Thu
Author: Me again
Subject: Spyware law

WASHINGTON - The House on Thursday passed the second bill in three days that
would outlaw "spyware," irritating software that quietly monitors the
activities of Internet users.



It would add penalties of up to five years in prison for people convicted of
installing such programs without a computer user's permission.


The bill, known as the "Internet Spyware Prevention Act," passed 415-0. It
would give the Justice Department (news - web sites) $10 million to crack
down on companies and others that secretly install spyware and those who
attempt to trick victims into disclosing personal details and financial
information in e-mail scams popularly known as "phishing."


The bill's sponsor, Rep. Bob Goodlatte (news, bio, voting record), R-Va.,
said such problems were growing and serious. Offenders under his bill would
be sentenced for up to five years for secretly installing spyware to break
into someone's computer and commiting another federal crime.


Anyone caught installing spyware to change a computer's security settings or
steal a victim's personal information - such as an e-mail address, telephone
number or bank account number - could be sentenced up to two years in
prison.


Rep. Zoe Lofgren (news, bio, voting record), D-Calif., said spyware was
"quickly becoming one of the biggest threats to consumers on the Internet."
She cited estimates that up to 90 percent of computers contain some forms of
spyware. Lofgren said her daughter was recently victimized by electronic
thieves in a phishing scam, persuading her in a forged e-mail to disclose
personal information.


"Her thumb hit the send button and she thought, 'Oh, my goodness, what have
I done!' We had to call and cancel all the credit cards and the like,"
Lofgren said. "This is something that preys upon people."


The House on Tuesday voted 399-1 to pass the "Spy Act," sponsored by Rep.
Mary Bono (news, bio, voting record), R-Calif., which would add hefty civil
penalties over the use of spyware.


Lawmakers were widely expected to combine both proposals for a final vote by
year's end.

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]
[ Contact Forum Admin ]

Forum timezone: GMT-8
VF Version: 3.00b, ConfDB:
Before posting please read our privacy policy.
VoyForums(tm) is a Free Service from Voyager Info-Systems.
Copyright © 1998-2019 Voyager Info-Systems. All Rights Reserved.