House Continues Anti-Spyware Push
The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously approved its fast-track anti-spyware legislation today, pushing the bill out for a full House vote.
Source: Internet NewsAt a January hearing on the legislation, several lawmakers, who otherwise strongly supported H.R. 29, the Securely Protect Yourself Against Cyber Trespass Act (SPY ACT), raised concerns that the bill would unintentionally target third-party cookies.
During a subcommittee vote last month, the House amended the SPY ACT in an attempt to exempt all types of cookies.
And before voting on the legislation on Wednesday, the committee further amended it to exempt HTML and Web beacons, which facilitate normal Web page construction. In addition, the bill exempts embedded advertising from the proscribed list of practices requiring notice and consent.
Although he voted for the bill, Commerce Committee ranking member John Dingell (D-Mich.) acknowledged that there are still issues with it.
"This [amendment] makes clear that cookies are not covered. But not all cookies are benign, and we may be creating dangerous loopholes."
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