The end of Spyware?

Two bills focusing on spyware overwhelmingly passed the U.S. House of Representatives late Monday, including one that requires many software programs collecting personal information to get permission before doing so.

The Securely Protect Yourself Against Cyber Trespass Act, or Spy Act, also would outlaw the act of taking over a computer in order to send unauthorized information or code, and diverting a Web browser without the permission of the computer owner. The bill, which passed the House by a vote of 393-4, prohibits Web advertising that computer users cannot close "without undue effort" or without shutting down the computer, and it prohibits collecting personal information through keystroke logging.

A second bill, the Internet Spyware Prevention Act, or I-Spy Act, sets jail terms of up to five years for a person who uses spyware to access a computer without authorization and uses the computer to commit another federal crime. The I-Spy Act also would allow a jail term of up to two years for a person who uses spyware to obtain someone else's personal information or to defeat security protections on a computer with the intent of defrauding or injuring the computer owner.