[Upd-discuss] Home Invasion by EULA Bill in Oklahoma

[Dean Anderson]

Sigh, yet another reason to run Linux? YARRL

		--Dean

On Wed, 12 Apr 2006, Seth Johnson wrote:

> 
> -------- 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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