[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1319 Engrossed in House (EH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1319

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
  To prevent the inadvertent disclosure of information on a computer 
 through certain ``peer-to-peer'' file sharing programs without first 
providing notice and obtaining consent from an owner or authorized user 
                            of the computer.

    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 ``Informed P2P User Act''.

SEC. 2. CONDUCT PROHIBITED.

    (a) Notice and Consent Required for File-sharing Software.--
            (1) Notice and consent required prior to installation.--It 
        is unlawful for any covered entity to install on a protected 
        computer or offer or make available for installation or 
        download on a protected computer a covered file-sharing program 
        unless such program--
                    (A) immediately prior to the installation or 
                downloading of such program--
                            (i) provides clear and conspicuous notice 
                        that such program allows files on the protected 
                        computer to be made available for searching by 
                        and copying to one or more other computers; and
                            (ii) obtains the informed consent to the 
                        installation of such program from an owner or 
                        authorized user of the protected computer; and
                    (B) immediately prior to initial activation of a 
                file-sharing function of such program--
                            (i) provides clear and conspicuous notice 
                        of which files on the protected computer are to 
                        be made available for searching by and copying 
                        to another computer; and
                            (ii) obtains the informed consent from an 
                        owner or authorized user of the protected 
                        computer for such files to be made available 
                        for searching and copying to another computer.
            (2) Non-application to pre-installed software.--Nothing in 
        paragraph (1)(A) shall apply to the installation of a covered 
        file-sharing program on a computer prior to the first sale of 
        such computer to an end user, provided that notice is provided 
        to the end user who first purchases the computer that such a 
        program has been installed on the computer.
            (3) Non-application to software upgrades.--Once the notice 
        and consent requirements of paragraphs (1)(A) and (1)(B) have 
        been satisfied with respect to the installation or initial 
        activation of a covered file-sharing program on a protected 
        computer after the effective date of this Act, the notice and 
        consent requirements of paragraphs (1)(A) and (1)(B) do not 
        apply to the installation or initial activation of software 
        modifications or upgrades to a covered file-sharing program 
        installed on that protected computer at the time of the 
        software modifications or upgrades so long as those software 
        modifications or upgrades do not--
                    (A) make files on the protected computer available 
                for searching by and copying to one or more other 
                computers that were not already made available by the 
                covered file-sharing program for searching by and 
                copying to one or more other computers; or
                    (B) add to the types or locations of files that can 
                be made available by the covered file-sharing program 
                for searching by and copying to one or more other 
                computers.
    (b) Preventing the Disabling or Removal of Certain Software.--It is 
unlawful for any covered entity--
            (1) to prevent the reasonable efforts of an owner or 
        authorized user of a protected computer from blocking the 
        installation of a covered file-sharing program or file-sharing 
        function thereof; or
            (2) to prevent an owner or authorized user of a protected 
        computer from having a reasonable means to either--
                    (A) disable from the protected computer any covered 
                file-sharing program; or
                    (B) remove from the protected computer any covered 
                file-sharing program that the covered entity caused to 
                be installed on that computer or induced another 
                individual to install.

SEC. 3. ENFORCEMENT.

    (a) Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices.--A violation of 
section 2 shall be treated as a violation of a rule defining an unfair 
or deceptive act or practice prescribed under section 18(a)(1)(B) of 
the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)).
    (b) Federal Trade Commission Enforcement.--The Federal Trade 
Commission shall enforce this Act in the same manner, by the same 
means, and with the same jurisdiction as though all applicable terms 
and provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act were incorporated 
into and made a part of this Act.
    (c) Preservation of Federal and State Authority.--Nothing in this 
Act shall be construed to limit or supersede any other Federal or State 
law.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this Act--
            (1) the term ``commercial entity'' means an entity engaged 
        in acts or practices in or affecting commerce, as such term is 
        defined in section 4 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 
        U.S.C. 44);
            (2) the term ``covered entity'' means--
                    (A) a commercial entity that develops a covered 
                file-sharing program; and
                    (B) a commercial entity that disseminates or 
                distributes a covered file-sharing program and is owned 
                or operated by the commercial entity that developed the 
                covered file-sharing program;
            (3) the term ``protected computer'' has the meaning given 
        such term in section 1030(e)(2) of title 18, United States 
        Code; and
            (4) the term ``covered file-sharing program''--
                    (A) means a program, application, or software that 
                is commercially marketed or distributed to the public 
                and that enables--
                            (i) a file or files on the protected 
                        computer on which such program is installed to 
                        be designated as available for searching by and 
                        copying to one or more other computers owned by 
                        another person;
                            (ii) the searching of files on the 
                        protected computer on which such program is 
                        installed and the copying of any such file to a 
                        computer owned by another person--
                                    (I) at the initiative of such other 
                                computer and without requiring any 
                                action by an owner or authorized user 
                                of the protected computer on which such 
                                program is installed; and
                                    (II) without requiring an owner or 
                                authorized user of the protected 
                                computer on which such program is 
                                installed to have selected or 
                                designated a computer owned by another 
                                person as the recipient of any such 
                                file; and
                            (iii) the protected computer on which such 
                        program is installed to search files on one or 
                        more other computers owned by another person 
                        using the same or a compatible program, 
                        application, or software, and to copy files 
                        from the other computer to such protected 
                        computer; and
                    (B) does not include a program, application, or 
                software designed primarily to--
                            (i) operate as a server that is accessible 
                        over the Internet using the Internet Domain 
                        Name system;
                            (ii) transmit or receive email messages, 
                        instant messaging, real-time audio or video 
                        communications, or real-time voice 
                        communications; or
                            (iii) provide network or computer security, 
                        network management, hosting and backup 
                        services, maintenance, diagnostics, technical 
                        support or repair, or to detect or prevent 
                        fraudulent activities; and
            (5) the term ``initial activation of a file-sharing 
        function'' means--
                    (A) the first time the file sharing function of a 
                covered file-sharing program is activated on a 
                protected computer; and
                    (B) does not include subsequent uses of the program 
                on that protected computer.

SEC. 5. RULEMAKING.

    The Federal Trade Commission may promulgate regulations under 
section 553 of title 5, United States Code to accomplish the purposes 
of this Act. In promulgating rules under this Act, the Federal Trade 
Commission shall not require the deployment or use of any specific 
products or technologies.

SEC. 6. NONAPPLICATION TO GOVERNMENT.

    The prohibition in section 2 of this Act shall not apply to the 
Federal Government or any instrumentality of the Federal Government, 
nor to any State government or government of a subdivision of a State.

            Passed the House of Representatives December 8, 2009.

            Attest:

                                                                 Clerk.
111th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                               H. R. 1319

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

  To prevent the inadvertent disclosure of information on a computer 
 through certain ``peer-to-peer'' file sharing programs without first 
providing notice and obtaining consent from an owner or authorized user 
                            of the computer.