Broadband Tech > Security > Security > Microsoft Piracy Check Comes Calling

reply to ZOverLord

Re: Microsoft Piracy Check Comes Calling

quote:

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A controversial bill that claimed to combat computer virus “spyware” died in committee at the end of the legislative session, lawmakers report.

The bill lost support of large software companies credited with developing it after it was rewritten to prevent them from viewing the personal information of computer users, the bill’s Senate author said.

Decried by critics as giving software giant Microsoft Corp. and other companies the right to monitor any customer’s personal computer use, the would-be “Computer Spyware Protection Act” was gutted by a legislative conference committee until it was an empty shell, its language replaced by a law to regulate transportation contracts.

Senators on both sides of the debate concerning the proposed anti-spyware bill credited a public outcry over the original language in the bill that would have allowed companies to search online computer users’ installed software and hard drive information for “fraudulent or other illegal activities.”

“Yes, it was obvious that enough questions had been raised by (Oklahoma) Gazette and my constituents, that if the spyware bill was such a good idea, it’ll be an even better idea later,” said Sen. Cal Hobson, D-Lexington, a member of the committee. “People are suspicious of government and companies and people who want to do us harm and have access to our most private, personal information.”

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said by garywk :

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The bill, as originally written has already been passed in 12 states.

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Thank God none of the three bills concerning this introduced in Hawaii this year passed.

reply to garywk
In what 12 states has it passed?

»www.benedelman.org/spyware/legislation/

reply to ZOverLord
This is insane.

reply to Mele20

There is a link to more current information which mentions Oklahoma's bill:

»www.ncsl.org/programs/lis/spyware06.htm

I'm confused also. Supposedly the original bill which is what was passed in California in 2004 and by these other states grants that ability to software companies to access user's personal information and hard drives. From what I read in this thread, that bill was abandoned by the software makers in Oklahoma when their legislature decided to cripple it and a very similar bill in Congress was recently abandoned but the 12 states that passed the original bill have granted this authority to the software makers. That is what I understand from reading this thread but then I read Edelman's review of that original bill and I don't see anything about this issue. So, I am as confused as you and can't help.
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"If you want to do DRM on a PC then you need to treat the user as the enemy." Ross Anderson in "`Trusted Computing' Frequently Asked Questions"

reply to fatness
"Nothing in this section shall apply to any monitoring of, or
interaction with, a subscriber's Internet or other network connection
or service, or a protected computer, by a telecommunications
carrier, cable operator, computer hardware or software provider, or
provider of information service or interactive computer service for
network or computer security purposes, diagnostics, technical
support, repair, authorized updates of software or system firmware,
authorized remote system management, or detection or prevention of
the unauthorized use of or fraudulent or other illegal activities in
connection with a network, service, or computer software, including
scanning for and removing software proscribed under this chapter."
--
Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway.

Which state laws include that language?

reply to ZOverLord
Excuse the curiocity.Isn't there an independent authority for the protection of privacy or something,which among other things has the power to state that a law is violating privacy/is potentially dangerous?

reply to garywk