Congress may pass wrong spyware bill

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the wrong bill or no bill?

I think even a slightly overbroad bill is better than none. Most people are getting sick and tired of advertisers and software vendors riding on the edge of even percieved legality.(coolwebsearch being a notorious example) And of course the many blatantly illegal key-loggers and such.

I myself get angered over software that constantly wants to phone home for some reason or another every time it's loaded. I won't mention any names but "m.s." are the initials of one offender.

As far as the ITAA's statement that the "current bill will generate a veritable blizzard of legally mandated pop-up notices that only a lawyer would love," look at the EULAs now! A tiny window with a thousand words of legalese that only a lawyer could love (or understand).
And I already get a blizzard of pop-ups from my firewall and anti-virus and anti-adware programs.
I get a warning pop-up from Ad-Aware when logging on to Hotmail. That's going too far.
I would much rather get a window asking permission to connect and explaining the reason for the request.

Ummm, what's wrong with this statement?:
"Instead of trying to define what computer software should or shouldn't do, the ISPA simply says it's illegal to install software "without authorization" if it leaks personal information or "impairs" a computer's security..."

It's not the purpose of the bill to define what software *should* do, it's purpose is to define what it *shouldn't* do. And that is that "it's illegal to install software "without authorization" if it leaks personal information or "impairs" a computer's security"

Although it's not a lawerly definition it's a good place to start.
The "do not call" law that was recently passed was a pretty good example of a fairly simple rule that removed a festering problem from many people's day to day lives.

I don't think *any" software should be installed without explicit permission and a perfectly clear and simple explanation of what it will do. If it takes a $500 an hour lawyer to decipher the explanation the crap shouldn't be distributed for fun or profit

Posted by: bony tryan   Posted on: 07/20/04 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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