Governor Olene Walker signed the Spyware Control Act today. To my knowledge, this makes Utah the first state to specifically regulate spyware.
Details about the bill are in my A Close Reading of the Spyware Control Act.
A Close Reading of the Spyware Control Act
A Close Reading of the Spyware Control Act takes a careful look at the spyware legislation recently passed in Utah and now awaiting the governor’s signature. This legislation requires software that transmits users’ usage data (web sites visited, etc.) to provide appropriate disclosures in a license agreement (in plain language, actually presented to users, etc.), and to provide an uninstall routine.
Seems uncontroversial? That’s what I thought, but the bill has raised opposition from big .COM companies that seem to think the legislation is actually a bad idea — even as they are among the sites most intensively targeted by spyware pop-up ads. Have these companies missed the boat? Or have I? Check out the article — including their letter (PDF) and my paragraph-by-paragraph response — and decide for yourself.
Methods and Effects of Spyware
Methods and Effects of Spyware (PDF) is my written response to the FTC‘s call for comments (PDF), leading up to their April 19 workshop on spyware. In this document, I explain how spyware works, including presenting specific personal information transmitted by both Gator and WhenU. (The WhenU transmissions are particularly notable because these transmissions seem to violate WhenU’s own privacy policy.) Other sections of the document discuss installation methods of spyware (with special consideration of the technical methods used in drive-by downloads), frequency of advertisement display, and performance and security effects of spyware.
I hope to attend the FTC’s April workshop, and I would be particularly pleased to hear from others who will be there or who have comments on this issue.
New Publications about Spyware Legislation and Regulation updated March 19, 2004
Some months have passed since my last work on spyware — Documentation of Gator Advertisements and Targeting (spring 2003) and my expert testimony in the matter of Quicken Loans and Wells Fargo v. WhenU (not available on the web) (summer 2003).
This week I’ve been working on a new subsection of this web site, “Spyware”: Research, Testing, Legislation, and Suits, for which two new entries are now available:
A Close Reading of the Spyware Control Act takes a careful look at the spyware legislation recently passed in Utah and now awaiting the governor’s signature. This legislation requires software that transmits users’ usage data (web sites visited, etc.) to provide appropriate disclosures in a license agreement (in plain language, actually presented to users, etc.), and to provide an uninstall routine. Seems pretty uncontroversial? That’s what I thought, but in fact the bill has raised some opposition from big .COM companies that seem to think the legislation is actually a bad idea — even as they are among the sites most intensively targeted by spyware pop-up ads. Have these companies missed the boat? Or have I? Check out the article — including their letter (PDF) and my paragraph-by-paragraph response — and decide for yourself.
Methods and Effects of Spyware (PDF) is my written response to the FTC‘s call for comments (PDF), leading up to their April 19 workshop on spyware. In this document, I explain how spyware works, including presenting specific personal information transmitted by both Gator and WhenU. (The WhenU transmissions are particularly notable because these transmissions seem to violate WhenU’s own privacy policy.) Other sections of the document discuss installation methods of spyware (with special consideration of the technical methods used in drive-by downloads), frequency of advertisement display, and performance and security effects of spyware.
I hope to attend the FTC’s April workshop, and I would be particularly pleased to hear from others who will be there or who have comments on this issue.
Akamai Technologies (teaching materials) with Thomas Eisenmann, and Eric Van den Steen
Edelman, Benjamin, Thomas R. Eisenmann, and Eric J. Van den Steen. “Akamai Technologies.” Harvard Business School Case 804-158, March 2004. (Revised June 2010.) ( educator access at HBP. request a courtesy copy.)
As the leading content delivery network, Akamai helps Internet companies deliver Web site content to end users with fewer delays and lower costs. Describes the strategic management challenges facing Akamai in early 2004. The company is poised to offer its next generation of services for enterprise customers, which will allow them to run Internet-enabled applications (“Web services”)on demand, with minimal capital investmentfrom Akamai’s network of 15,000 servers located in ISP facilities at the Internet’s “edge”close to end users. Many large enterprise software companies have developed proprietary platforms for creating and managing Web services. Akamai must decide which of these software companies would be attractive partners and whether it can and should remain uncommitted to a platform as it helps customers deploy Web services. A rewritten version of an earlier case.
New Site Online
Welcome to my new site!
I’ve finished my time at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society and will therefore be publishing future work on this site rather than on the Berkman Center’s servers. But old links should remain operational indefinitely, and I’ll maintain a single listing of publications that includes my work there as well as subsequent projects.
Despite the change of venue, my substantive interests remain largely the same. In the coming months, look for new articles about Internet filtering (notable developments in Asia and the Middle East), about domain names (evaluation of new gTLDs, and documentation of the controversial practices still used by some registrants), and about pop-up advertising (programs like Gator and WhenU remaining in the spotlight).
I have also begun to think about my economics Ph.D. dissertation — a major undertaking, of course, but a project I’m particularly excited about. I can’t yet say precisely what I’ll be writing about — but I wouldn’t be surprised if my articles included analysis of the domain name industry, of pay-per-click advertising, and perhaps even of online travel services. More details in the coming months.