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

                                                 Union Calendar No. 213
111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1319

                          [Report No. 111-361]

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 5, 2009

   Mrs. Bono Mack (for herself, Mr. Barrow, and Mr. Barton of Texas) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                          Energy and Commerce

                            December 8, 2009

Additional sponsors: Mr. Deal of Georgia, Ms. DeGette, Mr. Pallone, Mr. 
   Gonzalez, Mrs. Christensen, Ms. Castor of Florida, Mr. Space, Mr. 
 Stupak, Ms. Sutton, Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. Kagen, Mr. Donnelly of Indiana, 
 Mr. Matheson, Mr. Chandler, Mr. Boren, Mr. Grayson, Mr. Cleaver, Ms. 
McCollum, Ms. Eshoo, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Mr. Gordon of Tennessee, 
 Mr. Hill, Mr. Griffith, Mr. Scott of Georgia, Mr. Clay, Mrs. Maloney, 
Mr. Weiner, Mr. Perlmutter, Mr. Childers, Mr. Tanner, Mr. Calvert, Mr. 
                Issa, Mrs. Blackburn, and Mr. Radanovich

                            December 8, 2009

 Deleted sponsor: Ms. Zoe Lofgren of California (added March 16, 2009; 
                        deleted March 26, 2009)

                            December 8, 2009

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House 
          on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]
 [For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 
                                5, 2009]





_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To prevent the inadvertent disclosure of information on a computer 
   through the use of certain ``peer-to-peer'' file sharing software 
without first providing notice and obtaining consent from the 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 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 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 
        subparagraph (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.
    (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 computer on 
                        which such program is installed to be 
                        designated as available for searching and 
                        copying to one or more other computers;
                            (ii) the searching of files on the computer 
                        on which such program is installed and the 
                        copying of any such file to another computer--
                                    (I) at the initiative of such other 
                                computer and without requiring any 
                                action by an owner or authorized user 
                                of the computer on which such program 
                                is installed; and
                                    (II) without requiring an owner or 
                                authorized user of the computer on 
                                which such program is installed to have 
                                selected or designated another computer 
                                as the recipient of any such file; and
                            (iii) an owner or authorized user of the 
                        computer on which such program is installed to 
                        search files on one or more other computers 
                        using the same or a compatible program, 
                        application, or software, and copy such files 
                        to such owner or user's 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, maintenance, diagnostics, 
                        technical support or repair, or to detect or 
                        prevent fraudulent activities.

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.
            Amend the title so as to read: ``A bill 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.''.
                                                 Union Calendar No. 213

111th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                               H. R. 1319

                          [Report No. 111-361]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                            December 8, 2009

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House 
          on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed