Oklahoma bill to open your computer to companies...

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Valdis.Kletnieks () vt edu
Date: April 11, 2006 4:00:45 PM EDT
To: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Subject: FOR IP: Oklahoma bill to open your computer to companies...

(Note - this is an Oklahoma House bill, not a US Congress. Doesn't  
make it
any more right...)

http://www.okgazette.com/news/templates/cover.asp?articleid=423&zoneid=7

Get ready for Microsoft, cable and phone companies, and quite a few  
other
people to know a lot more about what you do on your computer, thanks  
to House
Bill 2083.

Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Ben Fenwick

It's supposed to protect you from predators spying on your computer  
habits, but
a bill Microsoft Corp. helped write for Oklahoma will open your personal
information to warrantless searches, according to a computer privacy  
expert and
a state representative.

Called the "Computer Spyware Protection Act", House Bill 2083 would  
create
fines of up to a million dollars for anyone using viruses or  
surreptitious
computer techniques to break on to someone's computer without that  
person's
knowledge and acceptance, according to the bill's state Senate  
author, Clark
Jolley.

"The bill has a clear prohibition on anything going in without your  
permission.
You have to grant permission", said Jolley, R-Edmond. "You can look  
at your
license agreement. It will say whether they have the ability to take  
that
information or not".

But therein lies the catch.

If you click that "accept" button on the routine user's agreement,  
the proposed
law would allow any company from whom you bought upgradable software the
freedom to come onto your computer for "detection or prevention of the
unauthorized use of or fraudulent or other illegal activities in  
connection
with a network, service, or computer software, including scanning for  
and
removing computer software prescribed under this act".

That means that Microsoft (or another company with such software) can  
erase
spyware or viruses. But if you have, say, a pirated copy of Excel -  
Microsoft
(or companies with similar software) can erase it, or anything else  
they want
to erase, and not be held liable for it. Additionally, that phrase  
"fraudulent
or other illegal activities" means they can:

 - Let the local district attorney know that you wrote a hot check  
last month.

 - Let the attorney general know that you play online poker.

 - Let the tax commission know you bought cartons of cigarettes and  
didn't
pay the state tax on them.

 - Read anything on your hard drive, such as your name, home  
address, personal
identification code, passwords, Social Security number ... etc.,  
etc., etc.

"I think in broad terms that is still a form of spying", said Marc  
Rotenberg,
attorney and executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information  
Center in
Washington, D.C. "Some people say, 'Well, it's justified'. I'm not so  
clear
that should be the case. Particularly if the reason you are passing  
legislation
is to cover that activity".

The bill is scheduled to go back before the House for another vote.  
Will the
Oklahoma House, on behalf of all computer users in the state of  
Oklahoma, click
"accept"?

(More in the online article)

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