Sep

24

Government Action on Spyware Coming Up

Filed Under General 

A c ouple of bills have been pending for a while and are now moving closer to a decision. In the House of Representatives:

House may vote on spyware bill next week

And in the U.S. Senate:

Senate Panel Approves Anti-Spyware Bill

A lot of these programs are installed on users’ computers with drive-by downloads when they visit sites, and while these bills may help within the U.S. what about those involved who are in other countries?

A lot of it involves PPC affiliates, and while there’s some off-shore involvement there are also U.S.-based PPC engines/companies involved. Ultimately, once the Government has some teeth to investigate and enforce, if these bills are enacted, which looks likely, those companies who are U.S.-based may end up being held responsible for the actions of their affiliates and partners in installing spyware and adware on consumers’ computers, regardless of where the individuals are based.

A good part of it is trackable when the software is installed, particularly the Browser Helper Objects (BHO’s). At the point when definitive action can be taken, the public will need to be made aware of how to track the identifiers and where to report abuses if they experience unwanted installations.

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