States join spyware battle

TalkBack 11 of 19:

Next »

« Previous

• Thread View
• Flat View

EULAs are the problem...

As long as clauses in the EULA allow a vendor to install spyware, then the remedies available to the law is limited. The problem is that contract law is quite powerful-- because a contract is legally viewed as consent on your part. The spyware is on your system because you theoretically "agreed" to install it. And there is very little that the law can do to "protect" you when you have voluntarily accepted the outcome.

But this is one place where legislation can be effective. Legislation CAN override contracts, if written to do so. The law should be written with a clause to the extent of, "No person may voluntarily or involuntarily waive his or her rights and protections granted by this law, including by the use of contracts. Any terms on a contract which removes or alters any provision of this law is deemed unenforceable." That way, people are protected from spyware, even with crap like "By installing X, you agree to install Y..." and "By viewing this web page, you agree that...".

Some companies might complain that this "forecloses a legitimate means for conducting business", but this reasoning is nothing more than self-serving. There is a line, and society should not tolerate any concievable means for "monetizing" life.

Posted by: Root User   Posted on: 03/05/04 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

Alert moderator to an offensive message

Subscribe to this discussion via Email or RSS

SponsoredWhite Papers, Webcasts, and Downloads

• Why Isn't Server Virtualization Saving Us More? A Few Small Changes May Dramatically Increase Your Efficiency VMware Companies have rapidly adopted server virtualization over the past few ... Download Now
• Virtualization: Architectural Considerations And Other Evaluation Criteria VMware Of the many approaches to x86 systems virtualization available in the ... Download Now
• The True Costs of Virtual Server Solutions VMware In an economic environment that is repeatedly heralding the message "do ... Download Now