[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2929 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2929

 To protect users of the Internet from unknowing transmission of their 
 personally identifiable information through spyware programs, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 25, 2003

 Mrs. Bono (for herself and Mr. Towns) introduced the following bill; 
       which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To protect users of the Internet from unknowing transmission of their 
 personally identifiable information through spyware programs, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Safeguard Against Privacy Invasions 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FTC AUTHORITY TO REGULATE TRANSMISSION OF SPYWARE PROGRAMS.

    (a) Prohibition of Transmission Without Consent.--The Federal Trade 
Commission shall, by regulation, prohibit the transmission of a spyware 
program to a covered computer by means of the Internet, unless the user 
of the covered computer expressly consents to such transmission in 
response to a clear and conspicuous request for such consent or through 
an affirmative request for such transmission.
    (b) Transmission Pursuant to License Agreements.--The Federal Trade 
Commission shall, by regulation, establish requirements for the 
transmission of a spyware program to a covered computer, by means of 
the Internet, in any case in which the transmission of the spyware 
program, or any information, program, or communication together or in 
connection with which the spyware program is transmitted, requires any 
affirmative action on the part of the user of the covered computer to 
agree to a license, contract, or other agreement which is made 
available on the World Wide Web, as follows:
            (1) Location of license agreement.--The terms of such 
        license, contract, or agreement shall be set forth on a World 
        Wide Web page and the mechanism by which the user of the 
        covered computer agrees to such license, contract, or agreement 
        shall be included on the same page.
            (2) Notice.--The terms of the license, contract, or other 
        agreement shall--
                    (A) include provisions, that are clearly stated and 
                prominently displayed, which specify that agreement to 
                such license, contract, or other agreement constitutes 
                consent to transmission of the spyware for purposes of 
                subsection (a); and
                    (B) clearly explain the purpose of including the 
                spyware.
            (3) Identification.--The name of the person or entity 
        transmitting the spyware, a valid physical street address of 
        such person or entity, and a functioning return electronic mail 
        address for such person or entity shall be included on the 
        World Wide Web page referred to in paragraph (1).
    (c) Notice of Collection of Personally Identifiable Information.--
The Federal Trade Commission shall, by regulation, prohibit the use of 
any spyware program that is transmitted to a covered computer by means 
of the Internet for collecting any personally identifiable information 
from the covered computer, unless notice that the program will be used 
for such collection is provided--
            (1) in any license, contract, or other agreement covering 
        the spyware program or the information, program, or 
        communication together with which, or in connection with which, 
        the spyware program is transmitted; and
            (2) in another prominent location, as the Commission shall 
        provide.

SEC. 3. ENFORCEMENT.

    (a) Enforcement Through FTC Act.--
            (1) Unfair or deceptive act or practice.--A violation of 
        any provision of this Act or any regulation issued under this 
        Act is an unfair or deceptive act or practice unlawful under 
        section 5(a)(1) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 
        45(a)(1)).
            (2) Guidelines and opinions.--In order to assist in 
        compliance with this Act, the Federal Trade Commission may 
        issue generally applicable guidelines and, upon request, 
        advisory opinions with respect to specific types of acts or 
        practices that would, or would not, comply with this Act.
    (b) Criminal Penalties.--Whoever--
            (1) violates section 2(c) or the regulations issued under 
        such section, or
            (2) knowingly violates any other provision of this Act or 
        any regulation issued under this Act,
shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned for 
not more than 1 year, or both.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act:
            (1) Computer; covered computer.--The terms ``computer'' and 
        ``covered computer'' have the meanings given such terms in 
        section 1030(e) of title 18, United States Code.
            (2) Internet.--The term ``Internet'' means collectively the 
        myriad of computer and telecommunications facilities, including 
        equipment and operating software, which comprise the 
        interconnected world-wide network of networks that employ the 
        Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, or any 
        predecessor or successor protocols to such protocol, to 
        communicate information of all kinds by wire or radio.
            (3) Spyware program.--The term ``spyware program'' means 
        any computer program or software that can be used to transmit 
        from a computer, or that has the capability of so transmitting, 
        by means of the Internet and without any action on the part of 
        the user of the computer to initiate such transmission, 
        information regarding the user of the computer, regarding the 
        use of the computer, or that is stored on the computer. In 
        issuing regulations to carry out this paragraph, the Commission 
        shall distinguish spyware programs from other commonly used 
        computer programs used to share information among computers in 
        an organized network of computers.
            (4) Page.--The term ``page'' means, with respect to the 
        World Wide Web, a location that has a single Uniform Resource 
        Locator or other single location with respect to the Internet, 
        as the Commission may prescribe.
            (5) Personally identifiable information.--The term 
        ``personally identifiable information'' does not include any 
        record of aggregate data that does not identify particular 
        persons, particular computers, particular users of computers, 
        or particular email addresses or other locations of computers 
        with respect to the Internet.

SEC. 5. REGULATIONS.

    The Commission shall issue regulations necessary to carry out this 
Act not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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