Microsoft Wants Spyware Laws To Say Spyware Name Is In The Eye Of The User
from the protection-from-lawsuits dept
Spyware companies still like to dance around the definition of spyware, by coming up with a very specific definition that is not the same as what users think is spyware. It's become so silly that it almost seems like common practice for these companies to sue anti-spyware vendors for calling their products spyware. With yesterday's multiple anti-spyware bills moving forward, Microsoft has noticed that, while they try hard not to define spyware, this leaves a loophole in the other direction, in that spyware firms can continue their legal threats towards anyone who calls them spyware. With that in mind, they're suggesting any law offer protection from lawsuits from companies upset that a vendor has labeled their product as spyware. Microsoft's argument is that all their anti-spyware product does is define spyware the way users see it -- which are applications installed surreptitiously that they don't want. Of course, this might be a bit of a slippery slope. If a company has a legitimate complaint, they should be allowed to sue. Perhaps the solution is to have the companies penalized if the lawsuit is deemed frivolous.
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Perhaps the gov't should stay out
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Grow up
As for what should be considered spyware, any program that does not register the proper Add-Remove functionality (from Control Panels), or does not actually remove itself when requested, should be considered sypware.
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Re: Grow up
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No Subject Given
Microsoft anti-annoyance-ware .. hmm.. think it would make my mother in-law go away too?
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Re: Spyware
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