Well, folks, don't say I didn't warn you. In July of 2006, when the Fedabobble Gummint started work on anti-spyware legislation, I expressed my usual curmudgeonly cynicism over the likely results. Among other things, I noted that the FTC had already told Congress it didn't need any additional legislation (a fact reinforced by recent successful actions against spyware offenders) and that at least one major spyware vendor was backing the effort, making it all of questionable value at best.
Comes now blogger Ed Foster at InfoWorld with evidence that my crystal ball was, at least in this case, in good working order. H.R. 964, the so-called Spy Act, carves out major exceptions for ISPs, software vendors, and pretty much anybody else who can claim you're doing business with them. Worse yet, the bill preempts stricter state laws and states that "no person other than the Attorney General of a State may bring a civil action" in such cases.
Had this bill been law when Sony installed its infamous rootkit on the PCs of unsuspecting consumers, there would have been no legal remedy available to individuals. Only a state AG could have taken action, and s/he wouldn't have in any case because the law would have made that rootkit legal.
Time to notify your Congresscritters that they should be spending more time cleaning up Bush Jr'.s mess in Iraq and less time pushing special interest legislation for their corporate cronies.
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