STEARNS' REWRITE OF SPY ACT APPROVED BY THE FULL HOUSE IN 2005

Washington, May 10, 2007 - "Through a series of hearings I had held as Chairman of the Commerce, Trade & Consumer Protection Subcommittee, we learned about spyware, a program that is secretly loaded onto a victim's computer that works to defraud not only them, but also to corrupt the Internet as a safe and secure space for commerce," stated Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL).  "This led to the introduction of the Spy Act, which would stop these deceptive and prohibited practices such as keystroke logging, web page hijacking, and unsolicited ads that cannot be deleted."  Stearns rewrite of the Spy Act eventually passed in the full House in 2005, but the Senate failed to act.

The Energy & Commerce Committee today approved the latest version of the Spy Act, H.R. 964.  "This measure prohibits all of the most commonly known unfair or deceptive practices relating to spyware," explained Stearns.  It prohibits the collection of personal information from a computer without the notice and consent.  In addition, the program must allow the user to easily remove or disable the spyware.

Stearns also joined the Committee in approving H.R. 948, the Social Security Number Protection Act.  Added Stearns, "this measure protects our most private and most vulnerable piece of personal information - our Social Security numbers (SSNs).  This is the key to unlocking so much personal information, information that can and has caused substantial financial and emotional harm when obtained by unauthorized persons for illegal purposes.  This bill accomplishes something so simple, it is hard to believe it took us this long to do it - it makes the sale and purchase of SSNs illegal."