The SPYBLOCK Act was introduced in the U.S. Senate last month, but I didn’t learn of it until now. An e-mail from Senator Boxer (D-CA) describes the intent of the bill:
Our SPYBLOCK (Software Principles Yielding Better Levels of Consumer Knowledge) Act would prohibit installing software on Somebody else’s computer without notice and consent, and requires reasonable “uninstall” procedures for all downloadable software. Spyware, adware and other hidden programs often secretly piggyback on downloaded Internet software without the user’s knowledge, transmitting information about computer usage and generating pop-up advertisements. Frequently such software is designed to be virtually impossible to uninstall.
This legislation will give consumers control over the programs that are downloaded onto their computers. As more and more people use the Internet, privacy violations become a greater threat, and we want to give computer users the power to protect themselves from spyware and other hazardous software.
The bill also prohibits programs designed to trick users about who is responsible for content a user sees, such as causing a counterfeit replica of a company’s Web site to appear whenever the consumer attempts to navigate toward a legitimate company’s Web site. These types of programs have been used to fraudulently obtain personal financial information from users confused by dummy Web sites.
Sounds good in theory; whether it can effectively be enforced is another matter. Undoubtedly, some distributors of this software will simply set up shop overseas, next door to the spammers. Moreover, some spyware programs already solicit the computer user’s “consent”; people just don’t pay attention to everything they download. So even if the bill became law, I’m sure the spiers would find loopholes through which they distribute their wares.
As long as we’re working on Internet laws, how about a strong bill which protects computer user’s privacy from the government?