Anti-Spyware Bill Advances in Congress

[CShine]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. congressional committee on Thursday approved a bill designed to crack down on deceptive "spyware" that hides in users' computers and secretly monitors their activities.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee voted 45-4 for a bill that would require software makers to notify people before loading new programs on their machines that collects information about them.

Spyware can sap computing power, crash machines and bury users under a blizzard of unwanted ads. It can capture passwords, credit-card numbers and other sensitive data.

The bill, introduced by Reps. Mary Bono, a California Republican, and Ed Towns, a New York Democrat, would allow the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to seek millions of dollars in fines for some of the practices lawmakers consider most egregious, such as logging users' keystrokes or stealing their identities. It also would require that spyware be made easily removable.

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