FTC To Host Spyware Workshop

From an FTC announcement:

The Federal Trade Commission will host a public workshop, “Monitoring Software on Your PC: Spyware, Adware, and Other Software,” on April 19, 2004, from 8:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. The workshop will explore issues associated with the distribution and effects of software that is loaded on personal computers without users’ consent and that gathers and sends information about users to third parties or that adversely affects the computers’ functioning. A Federal Register Notice describing the workshop in more detail will be published shortly. The workshop, which will be held at the FTC’s Conference Center at 601 New Jersey Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C., will be open to the public.

The workshop generally will focus on four areas:

Defining and Understanding Spyware, including a discussion of how spyware may differ from adware;

Distribution of Spyware, including the role that peer-to-peer file-sharing may play;

The Effects of Spyware, including the extent to which spyware affects the functioning of personal computers and raises privacy or security concerns; and

Possible Responses to Spyware Concerns, including a discussion of what consumers, government, and industry have been doing and intend to do, by themselves or together, to address the harms associated with spyware.


The rest of the release and more info can be found here:

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2004/02/spyware.htm

 

Eric Howes has provided some tips over at BBR for anyone who wants to submit comments to the FTC's spyware workshop:
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,9587358~mode=flat

 

Thanks for posting this. I missed it the first time around. I definately encourage everyone to at least make a comment to the FTC about this.