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FTC Calls for More Power to Deal with Hidden Spyware

A commissioner for the US Federal Trade Commission demanded from Congress that his agency be given increased authority to deal with the prevalent problem of hidden spyware on the internet. The current law states that the FTC can ask the courts to force guilty companies to give up the profits that they made during the period that they used hidden spyware. However, the FTC is seeking more power to penalize these companies through additional civil fines in order to deter them from future spyware activities.

Recently, the FTC reached a settlement with Zango Inc. which managed to download its software onto millions of computers through third party affiliates. The spyware is particularly difficult to locate and, even when it was found, almost impossible to remove. The FTC used its authority to get Zango to pay out $3-million in damages and restrict its use of spyware in the future, however it feels that it should be given more power to deal with future cases.

In 2003, the US Congress gave the FTC the authority to penalize computer spammers. Similar laws regarding anti-spyware have been drafted over the years, however opponents are worried that the term ?spyware? might be defined too broadly and would wreak havoc when it came to legitimate software downloads. The FTC official remarked however ?if Congress really wants to enhance consumer protection in the next decade, it needs to come up with a consensus anti-spyware law that gives us the authority to penalize the purveyors of spyware who cause so much consumer harm."