spyware and other scams aimed at stealing personal information from computer users. Spyware, said the bill's Democratic sponsor, Rep. Zoe Lofgren, "is one of the biggest threats to consumers on the Internet." She and other lawmakers cited estimates that up to 90 percent of computers in this country are infected with some forms of spyware. Spyware is software that secretly collects information about a person or organization and sends it to another without the original user's consent.
Republican Rep. Bob Goodlatte, co-sponsor of the bill, said it had been written so that it "protects consumers by imposing stiff penalties on the truly bad actors" while protecting legitimate online businesses that are developing new services to keep track of user preferences.
The bill would make it a criminal offense, subject to a prison term of up to five years, to gain unauthorized access to a computer to help carry out another federal offense. Obtaining or transmitting personal information with the intent of injuring or defrauding a person or damaging a computer would be punishable by up to two years in prison.
The measure approves US$10 million (euro7.4 million) a year over the next four years to help the Justice Department fight other computer scams such as "phishing" -- the use of fake e-mails or Web sites to trick consumers into providing bank account numbers or credit card or other personal information -- and "pharming," in which hackers redirect Internet traffic to fake sites to steal personal information.
Similar bills have been approved by the House in past sessions of Congress but have yet to clear the U.S. Senate.
