Spyware act imminent says Congresswoman

Congresswoman Mary Bono's Securely Protect Yourself Against Cyber Trespass Act (Spy Act) was met widespread approval in the first meeting of the House Energy and Commerce Committee of 2005.

"The SPY Act is a common-sense solution to fight illegal uses of spyware and restore consumer's control over their PC's without impeding the growth of technology," said Bono. "With the wide range of support this bill has received, I am confident that we will see swift passage of H.R. 29 [the Spy Act] in the House of Representatives this year."

The Energy and Commerce Committee heard from Howard Schmidt, CEO of R&H Security Consulting and representatives from Earthlink and Microsoft pushing for implementation of the bill.

Spy Act is intended to protect individuals from unwittingly downloading spyware and adware. It demands prior notice before software is downloaded and includes provisions to prohibit key-stroke logging, phishing and displaying advertising that cannot be closed.

The bill is co-sponsored by New York's Congressman Ed Towns.

www.house.gov/bono