[A2k] Home Invasion by EULA Bill in Oklahoma

[Seth Johnson]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [IP] Oklahoma bill to open your computer to companies...
Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2006 18:48:35 -0400
From: David Farber <dave@farber.net>
To: ip@v2.listbox.com


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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