Mumbai:
A US senator has moved a new bill in the senate that would
make it illegal for companies to install spyware on PCs
without consent.
Accusing
the technology industry of failing to regulate itself,
Democrat senator Mark Pryor of Arkansas who introduced
the bill said that unwanted software hurts economic, security,
and privacy interests of businesses and consumers.
"The
industry has failed in self-regulating," Pryor said
in a prepared statement. "It''s time to step in and
enact serious consequences against those who use this
invasive and deceptive practice," he added.
The
Southern Democrat is targeting spyware installed with
other software, as well as so-called "drive-by downloads,"
in which a software is covertly installed when an internet
user clicks on a link.
Pryor
pointed out that the unwanted software can be extremely
difficult to remove. He cited an AOL study that concluded
80 per cent of computers in a test group were infected
and 89 per cent of users were unaware that spyware had
infected their machines. Pryor introduced the Counter
Spy Act of 2007 after holding hearings on the issue. He
said it would deter companies and fraudsters from embedding
of spyware on users'' computers without first obtaining
their consent.
The
bill would make installing spyware an unfair or deceptive
practice. It covers hijacking, spam, denial of service,
pop-ups, changing default home page and security settings,
web proxies, and toolbar setups as well. Additionally,
it would give the Federal Trade Commission enforcement
power over violators, who could face civil or criminal
penalties, including fines and imprisonment.
"Spyware
is a serious infringement upon basic levels of privacy
and security," Pryor said. "There are very few,
if any, legitimate reasons for this practice to continue
but countless reasons for it to be stopped, including
identify theft and sluggish computer performance."
Similar
measures have passed the House of Representatives. The
Information Technology ssociation of America has opposed
such legislation in the past but did not provide immediate
comment on the latest attempt to pass federal laws to
stop spyware.
|