SPY BLOCK Act
Latest action. Placed on Senate legislative calendarThe list of measures reported out of committee and eligible for floor action. Being on the calendar is not a promise of a vote.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) under General Orders. Calendar No. 467.
Title I: Spyware - Software Principles Yielding Better Levels of Consumer Knowledge Act or the SPY BLOCK Act - (Sec. 102) Prohibits the installation of software on protected computers (a computer used in interstate or foreign commerce or communication) through unfair or deceptive acts or practices.
(Sec. 103) Prohibits a person who is not an authorized user of a protected computer from causing the installation of software that: (1) takes control of such computer through zombies, modem hijacking, denial of service attacks, or endless loop pop-up advertisements; (2) modifies the computer's settings to enable identity theft, to disable security in order to damage that or another computer, or to change, through unfair or deceptive means, the computer's Internet browser or bookmarks; or (3) prevents, without the user's authorization and by unfair or deceptive means, such user's reasonable efforts to block installation of, disable, or uninstall software.
(Sec. 104) Prohibits a person who is not an authorized user from causing the installation on a protected computer of software that collects sensitive personal information without first providing clear and conspicuous disclosure to the authorized user and obtaining the user's consent. Requires disclosure and consent to extract from the protected computer the user's: (1) social security number; (2) tax identification number; (3) driver's license number; (4) passport number; (5) any other government-issued identification number; (6) financial account, credit card, or debit card numbers; (7) account balances or overdraft history; or (8) other sensitive personal information.
Prohibits causing the installation on a computer of software that engages in any of the following practices without prior clear and conspicuous disclosure to, or with the knowledge of, the authorized user and for a purpose unrelated to the software purposes or service described to such user: (1) keystroke logging; (2) collection of personally identifying information that is correlated with the web sites visited, other than those operated by the person providing such software; and (3) extraction of substantive contents of files, data, software, or other information knowingly saved or installed by the authorized user or the substantive contents of communications sent to another computer. Exempts from such requirement a person that installs software that collects information for the provider of an online service or website knowingly used or subscribed to by an authorized user if the information collected is used only to affect the user's experience while using such service or website.
The summary continues for 12 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to Senate with amendment(s)" stage on June 12, 2006. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on June 12, 2006: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 467.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 109th Congress (2005-06), 482 of the 10,701 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.5 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
CONRAD BURNS (R-MT) introduced it on March 20, 2005, and 4 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 3 Democrats, 1 Republican.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on March 20, 2005, 7844 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 7395 days ago, on June 12, 2006.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 109th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2007 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers