FTC: Spyware Distributors Deserve Jail Time
Commission seeks to penalize "wrongdoers"
By: SM Gelerman
Posted: 04/12/2007
WASHINGTON -
Federal Trade Commission Commissioner William Kovacic called
for jail time for spyware distributors in a Senate Commerce
Committee hearing held on Tuesday, April 10.
Spyware distributors "can only be described as vicious
organized criminals," Kovacic said. In suggesting prison
time, the commissioner was responding to a query by Sen. Mark
Pryor (D-Ark.) on a method the FTC can use to stop the
unexpected loading of spyware on an unsuspecting user’s
computer.
Pryer intoned, "It’s a real source of frustration from my
constituents, my family, my office…basically anyone who has a
computer." Previously, Congress tried to pass legislation to
curb adware and spyware.
Kovacic sought a joint effort between criminal law
enforcement and the FTC in order to bring down the parties
responsible for the problem. "Many of the most serious
wrongdoers we observed in this area, I believe, are only
going to be deterred if their freedom is withdrawn," Kavacic
said.
Another FTC commissioner, Jon Leibowitz, echoed, Kovacic’s
sentiment. Leibowitz requested that Congress increase the
commissioners’ fine-levying power. The request was not
limited to spyware cases, but for other FTC problems,
including "pretexting," the act of using false pretenses to
obtain telephone records.
The April 10 hearing before the Senate was to inform
lawmakers of the FTC’s recent activities. It also allowed
commissioners to request a $17 million increase in the FTC’s
$240 million budget. The five FTC commissioners appeared
before the Senate’s 22-member committee (of which only four
senators appeared). This was the first time since June 2005
in which all five commissioners appeared before the senate
panel. At that time, the commissioners discussed identity
theft.
