Internet Spyware (I-SPY) Prevention Act of 2005
INTERNET SPYWARE (I-SPY) PREVENTION ACT OF 2005 -- (House of Representatives - May 23, 2005)
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Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to have partnered with the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte) on this legislation, H.R. 744, the Goodlatte-Lofgren I-SPY bill. Spyware is quickly becoming one of the biggest threats to consumers on the Internet. It is one of the reasons why we have an identity theft epidemic in this country. Thieves are using spyware to harvest personal information from unsuspecting Americans. Criminals are even using spyware to track every keystroke an individual makes, including credit and Social Security numbers.
Spyware also adversely affects the business community, who are forced to spend money to block and remove it from their systems. In fact, Microsoft has stated that spyware is at least partially responsible for approximately one-half of all application crashes reported to them. Experts estimate that as many as 80 to 90 percent of all personal computers contain some form of spyware.
Last year, Earthlink identified more than 29 million spyware programs. In short, spyware is a very real problem that is endangering consumers, damaging businesses and creating millions of dollars of additional costs. I am proud to be a party to H.R. 744, this bipartisan measure, because it identifies the truly unscrupulous acts associated with spyware and subjects them to criminal punishment.
This bill is unique, however, because it focuses on behavior rather than technology. It targets the worst forms of spyware without unduly burdening technological innovation. Why is this important? We know that innovation goes faster than legislation. It is important that we not try to fix the development of legislation in time. Instead, we need to focus on misbehavior, not technology, so that technology innovation can continue to move as rapidly as it does and yet the American consumer and businesses can be protected.
It is important, and this is an issue that there was some question about and I think we can answer quite easily, it is important to note that H.R. 744 does not prevent existing or future State laws which prohibit spyware. This bill only preempts civil actions that are based on violations of this new Federal criminal law in State courts. It does not prevent a State from passing a similar law, nor does it prevent any lawsuits that are premised on existing State laws.
H.R. 744 also gives the Attorney General the money he needs to find and prosecute spyware offenders. And, finally, it expresses the sense of Congress that the Department of Justice should vigorously pursue online phishing scams in which criminals send fake e-mail messages to consumers on behalf of famous companies and request personal information that is later used to conduct criminal activities.
Phishing and spyware are not just an inconvenience to consumers. They represent a direct threat to the vitality of the Internet itself because if people cannot trust the Internet, they will not utilize Internet commerce.
I would like to note that I also serve on the Committee on Homeland Security, and we are well aware that phishing to the extent that it yields identity theft information is of great concern as we seek to protect the Nation from terrorism. So what we are doing here today is important for consumers, it is important for business, it is important for the future of our high-tech economy, and it is important for the security of the Nation. I would urge my colleagues to strike a blow for the continued vitality of the Internet and again pass this bill unanimously.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
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