Write to
your Congressmen & Senators about protecting your privacy!
Currently
only two states, California & Washington have strong state
privacy laws, unfortunately, the lobbing groups are fighting hard
to get them over turned and sadly we only have limited regulations
on a national level. Our rights to privacy and our rights to protect
our personal information are slowly eroding. It is a sad reality
that in the United States a Drug Abuser has more rights to privacy
than the average US Citizen who uses a computer. It is up to all
of us to voice our concerns about the flood of personal information
that is being gathered, bartered, sold and shared.
The only
way to to get the laws changed and strengthened is if we speak
up as loudly as possible to our government officials. Rep. Mary
Bono is sponsoring a bill to restrict the use and scope of spyware
and adware programs. Please write to your congressmen to let them
know that we want stronger privacy protections. This is especially
true if you feel that you had adware and spyware programs installed
onto your computer without full and proper disclosure of what
was being installed.
These
laws will not get passed unless the American Public strongly supports
these legislation's. In
the past there have been other attempts to pass new bills to protect
and strengthen our rights to privacy. In 2002 Senators John Edwards,
Ernest Hollings & Representative Cliff Stearn had also attempted
to get new legislation passed. Their bill appears to have languished
and died on the floor.
You can use the links below to look up and directly email
your Senators or Congressman to let them know how you feel about
your privacy rights being exploited and express your views about
our need to have stronger privacy regulations.
Pending New Legislations
Spyware Targeted at Congressional Hearing
By John P. Mello Jr.
TechNewsWorld
November 20, 2003
A bill to take the "spy" out of spyware got a public
hearing before a Congressional subcommittee Wednesday.
"You're starting to see some very sophisticated capabilities
built into these things," Ken Sokol, senior product manager
at Clearswift, told TechNewsWorld. "Some spyware will sit
there and monitor what you're doing at your computer or steal
sensitive information about you or your customers."
Until now, spyware has been seen as primarily a consumer problem,
but Clearswift issued a white paper on the eve of the Congressional
hearing suggesting the malware will create serious trouble for
businesses, too.
"[Programs that] have been marketed and sold as corporate
security devices and parental control software for kids are finding
their way into the hands of hackers and criminals [who aim to]
remotely [take] control of a victim's PC to facilitate industrial
espionage," Clearswift Threatlab manager Pete Simpson said
in a statement.
http://www.technewsworld.com/perl/story/32206.html
Please contact your representative
to support this new legislation
Bono Introduces Spyware Legislation
July 30, 2003
By Roy Mark
U.S. Rep. Mary Bono (R.-Calif.) has introduced legislation requiring
companies using "spyware" to inform computer users of
their intent to install the invasive software and to obtain permission
before loading it onto a computer. Spyware allows companies and
individuals to monitor Internet activities and sometimes makes
it possible to gather personally identifiable information.
Bono said H.R. 2929, the Safeguard Against Privacy Invasions Act
(SPI), makes users aware of the technology before they install
it on their computers. "The SPI Act helps consumers make
more informed decisions about the types of tracking devices they
are loading onto their PCs," Bono said. The bill is co-sponsored
by Representative Edolphus Towns (D-10-NY), who said this legislation
has important implications for the privacy of Internet users.
http://dc.internet.com/news/article.php/2242311
Please contact your representative
to support this new legislation
http://www.marybono.com/Feedback/Feedback.cfm :: Mary Bono
http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/CA/bios/H/413.html
:: Edolphus Towns
P2P companies may face new scrutiny
Last modified: July 25, 2003, 3:44 PM PDT
By Lisa M. Bowman
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
A bill introduced Thursday in Congress would require file-swapping
companies to get parental permission before allowing minors to
use their services.
The bill, called the Protecting Children from Peer-to-Peer Pornography
(P4) Act and sponsored by Reps. Joe Pitts, R-Pa., and Chris John,
D-La., would require the Federal Trade Commission to regulate
peer-to-peer networks and take steps to ensure that children aren't
accidentally coming across porn.
The bill's sponsors said as many as 40 percent of all files traded
on the networks are porn.
"Our legislation gives parents the tools they need to protect
their children from pornography and threats to privacy posed by
peer-to-peer file-trading networks," Pitts said in a statement.
"By working together to protect children, we are building
a broad and bipartisan coalition."
http://news.com.com/2100-1025-5055426.html?tag=nl
Please contact your representative
to support this new legislation
Congress cracks down on P2P porn
Last modified: March 12, 2003, 5:30 PM PST
By Declan McCullagh
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
The U.S. Congress is targeting peer-to-peer networks again--and
this time politicians aren't fretting over music and software
piracy. Searching for words such as "preteen," "underage"
and "incest" on the Kazaa network resulted in a slew
of images that qualify as child pornography, the General Accounting
Office said in a 37-page report, one of two obtained by CNET News.com.
The second report, prepared by staff from the House Government
Reform Committee, concluded that current blocking technology has
"no, or limited, ability to block access to pornography via
file-sharing programs."
http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-992371.html?tag=st_rn
You can use the links below to look up and directly email
your Senators or Congressman to let them know how you feel about
your privacy rights being exploited and express your views about
our need to have stronger privacy regulations.
Offical US Senate - State listing of US
Senators
http://www.senate.gov/senators/senator_by_state.cfm
Alphbetacal listing with emails for US
Senators
http://www.senate.gov/contacting/index.cfm
Find & Contact your US Congressman
http://www.house.gov/writerep/
File
a complaint with The FTC & BBB
Where and how to report or file an antitrust
complaint
Federal Trade Commission
Consumer Response Center
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20580
Toll-free 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357)
Online Complaint Form
File a comsumer fraud complaint with the FTC at https://rn.ftc.gov/dod/wsolcq$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU01
Use this form to submit a complaint to the Federal Trade Commission
(FTC) Bureau of Consumer Protection about a particular company
or organization.
If you believe you have been the victim of identity theft, you
may use the link below to file a complaint to the Federal Trade
Commission (FTC).
https://rn.ftc.gov/dod/widtpubl$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU03
The BBB can handle the following complaints involving
marketplace activities:
* Misleading Advertising.
* Improper Selling Practices.
* Non-delivery of Goods or Services.
* Misrepresentation.
* Unhonored Guarantees or Warranty.
* Unsatisfactory Service.
* Credit/billing Problems.
* Unfulfilled Contracts.
File a on-line complaint with the Better
Business Bureau
In addition, you can visit www.consumer.gov for consumer and
business information from the FTC, FDA, SEC, and other federal
agencies. You also may want to check with the Better Business Bureau for tips on
truthful advertising, the BBB's voluntary Code of Advertising,
and information about scams targeting small businesses.
Where to report Child Pornography
http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/ceos/report.htm
