Both issues have been prominent in recent months, as the entertainment industry seeks to tackle the effect of file-sharing on its revenue stream, and consumers worldwide wake up to the fact that their computers are vulnerable to spyware - a type of software that secretly forwards information about a computer user's on-line activities to another individual or company.
The Piracy Deterrence and Education Act
Sponsored by Republican Congressmen Lamar Smith and Howard Berman, the draft Piracy Deterrence and Education Act was passed yesterday by the House Judiciary Committee.
The bill aims to criminalise file-sharing; to demand funding for the Justice Department to initiate an internet use education program; and to give the FBI powers to create an anti-piracy program that will warn those caught infringing copyright and share information about such incidents with copyright owners, enforcement agencies and ISPs.
According to the bill, those who make available: over $1,000 in copyrighted materials; 1,000 or more copies of copyrighted material; one or more copies of copyrighted materials worth $10,000 in value; or one or more copies of one copyrighted pre-release material, shall be liable to a maximum of three years imprisonment – or six years for a second or subsequent offence.
The trigger-level of $1,000 of copyrighted materials approximates to making available the tracks on around 70 albums. Those convicted shall also be liable to a fine, up to a maximum of $250,000.
There was one amendment to the bill, which will now allow devices such as ClearPlay's DVD player – which permits parents to edit inappropriate material out of films – to operate without breaching the law.
"Low risk and high profit is how criminals view piracy," said Smith. "This legislation increases cooperation among federal agencies and intellectual property owners, and assists federal law enforcement authorities in their efforts to investigate and prosecute intellectual property crimes".
It will now go forward for debate before Congress.
The Internet Spyware Prevention Act
Sponsored by Republican Congressmen Bob Goodlatte and Lamar Smith, the Internet Spyware (I-Spy) Prevention Act, also came before the Judiciary Committee yesterday, and is now to go forward to the full Congress.
This bill takes a narrow approach to the issue, aiming to criminalise those who deliberately access a computer without permission in order to:
A separate anti-spyware bill has already been passed by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, but that draft, known as the "Securely Protect Yourself Against Cyber Trespass Act", or SPY ACT, proposes to protect individuals from unknowingly downloading spyware by requiring that consumers receive a clear and conspicuous notice prior to downloading the software.
The SPY ACT also includes provisions to prohibit unfair or deceptive behaviour such as keystroke logging, computer hijacking and the display of advertisements that cannot be closed.
The two drafts will have to be consolidated before they can go forward for debate before the full House.