To help stop commercial use of spyware, misleading adwares, and several other commercial malware, the SPY Act or the Securely Protect Yourself Against Cyber Trespass Act was introduced to the congress. But there's a very steep twist to the act. Rather than making it easy for millions of online users, it is poised to make things definitely worse. If the act does come into effect, it would definitely give companies like Sony-BMG the much soughed right to look into your PC, may be your privacy, rendering the Personal in Personal Computers weightless. Many companies, big or small, under the guise of copy protection, will unleash a barrage of spyware variants, which will end up with you losing what little privacy you have with your PC.
The authority and jurisdiction, already exist and are exercised by the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice, against adwares, spyware and other malware vendors. The SPY Act does not give them any respite or much required new resources to fight badwares. The SPY Act would also render several laws, which work and are stricter, leaving law enforcements handicapped. The SPY Act also leaves the jurisdiction up to the federal government, revoking rights of private citizens or NGO's to use laws to take companies like Sony-BMG to court. The SPY Act also dumps more work load on the attorney general and federal government, they can not possibly take on more, with dockets already over filled with much important issues, rather have the SPY Act to provide incentives for people who do go after badwares authors themselves.
Congress and the bill drafters must also not leave anti-spyware and anti-virus tool producing companies, who are constantly harassed by spyware and malware authors suing these companies. Anti-spyware and anti-malware companies are the user's only line of defense and this has been the case since the beginning. Unluckily the SPY Act does absolutely nothing to protect these companies. The SPY Act is the most misguided piece of legislature to surface recently and does absolutely nothing. The legislature to take lawful action already exists and is used extensively by the FTC, in conjunction with the Department of Justice, last year itself the FTP cracked down on 11 spyware authors, demonstrating more than ever, that the laws required exist and we are being snow walled into something that we seriously don't want. Would you want all the big corporations out there to invade your privacy, under the guise of copyright regulations. Thought so. Although the SPY Act does offer some power to the FTC for seeking civil penalties against authors and others involved in benefiting from spyware and other malwares. But it also stubs out almost all the stricter laws that can be used to actually start and pursue and investigation against spyware and adwares producing companies. This amendment coming at the time when most state laws have lock and loaded their law guns against the badwares vendors. The innocent and unaware users are the worst hit, since it blocks the ability of citizens and NGO's to pursue and file cases in the court of law against such badwares vendors.
