US Anti-Spyware Law in the Works

A subcommittee of the US House Energy and Commerce committee has approved a bill Thursday that would help protect consumers from spyware by severely penalizing any software company found to be installing anything without the user’s knowledge and permission.

The chairman of the committee, John Dingell says:

Protecting Internet users from dangerous programs that steal consumers’ identities, invade their software or just plain harass them is a top priority

The bill, if approved, will require advertisers and software distributors to make it perfectly clear what software programs they are about to install on their computer and obtain their specific consent before doing so. If found to be in violation, a software vendor could be fined as much as $3 million for each incident.

The bill will now go to the full committee for consideration. It sounds like a good idea to me. Anything that will help stem the tide of spyware is good news.

These days, most users are savvy about clearing off spyware from their computers and using some type of anti-spyware program. Many seem to be more aware of the dangers of spyware and the risks of having personal information stolen, particularly credit card information, without their knowledge. However, there are still many users that are not as careful as they should be. So, it sounds like this law is designed with them in mind.