NATE JENKINS / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Friday, March 11, 2005 6:00 pm
Putting a penalty on the computer trickery that can cause burdensome annoyances like e-mail spam and more serious problems like identity theft could get serious attention from lawmakers this year. More Session 2005 stories.
A trio of legislative bills designed to thwart those and other infringements on personal computers and those who use them were discussed Friday before the Legislature's Judiciary Committee.
Perhaps most novel among them is a bill, introduced by Sen. Adrian Smith of Gering, that would prohibit senders of bulk e-mails from using false or deceptive information in their messages to lure people into opening them.
Such messages have become prevalent as marketers devise new ways to get consumers already weary of junk mail to open e-mails plugging their products. An e-mail with a subject line that bills it as providing information on a team building session at work, for example, could actually contain a sales pitch for mortgage refinancing.
The punitive hammer in Smith's bill that could be dropped on senders of misleading e-mails includes a $500 civil penalty for each deceptive e-mail. Attorney fees and "lost profits" from time spent sorting through misleading messages, Smith said, could also be recovered under his bill, LB393.
Sen. Mike Flood of Norfolk questioned whether some of the measures would actually fly in a courtroom.
"How do you prove damages unless you participate in a scam?" Flood asked.
Another bill (LB316) from Sen. Gwen Howard of Omaha, would make it illegal to tap into personal computers for the purpose of obtaining personal information. That is now done using so-called spyware, which essentially tracks identification information available on personal computers, including the Web sites one visits.
The bill would also make it illegal for outsiders to block or remove installation of anti-spyware and anti-virus software, relay commercial e-mail or computer viruses using another person's computer, and tinker with computer security settings, among other acts.
Also called for is the formation of a seven-member gubernatorial task force that would recommend how to enforce provisions of the bill with cooperation from other states as well as additional legislation needed to bolster computer privacy.
Supporters of the bill said it may help curb problems like identity theft but is not a total solution.
While supportive of the bill, Alex Nicoll of the Nebraska University Consortium on Information Assurance said it contains some flaws. The bill focuses on information stored in hard drives, for example, when it is often stored in other areas as well, Nicoll said.
A bill (LB670) from Sen. David Landis of Lincoln would also address spyware by updating provisions of an existing bill aimed at computer crimes. Among its provisions is one that prohibits the sale of software designed to allow falsification of e-mail transmission.
"This is an area you have to keep on top of," Landis said. "Computer crimes change almost quarterly."
Reach Nate Jenkins at 473-7223 or njenkins@journalstar.com.