Privacy Concerns of Spyware

Spyware is any unwanted software that secretly gathers information about a person or system and shares it with an unknown third party.

• type of malware
• poses threat to privacy because of the nature of information and the secret manner in which it collects that data
• 20 states have laws that specifically address spyware

Example

Utah was the first state to enact an anti-spyware law.

• quickly challenged by an advertising company
  • argued the law unconstitutionally limited its right to advertise
• court granted an injunction
  • formal order for someone to stop doing something
• prohibited Utah from enforcing new anti-spyware law
• legislators revised the law
• currently, the law prohibits pop-up advertising that uses spyware to target the ads
  • authorizes Utah AG to prosecute violations

Adware is software that displays advertising to a user

• can display banner advertisements, redirect a person to other websites, or display pop-up advertisements on a person’s computer that open a new web browser window to display ads
• Some types of adware are also spyware
  • This adware displays targeted advertisements based on secretly collected user information