Congress Quick to Work on Tech Issues

Updated April 13, 2001

A new President and a new year are not slowing Congress down. Already this year, a number of proposed bills relating to the “tech” world, have been introduced in Congress. This article can only promise to present a sample, as the activity is fast and furious, with tech issues likely to be affected by inclusion in bills with unlikely names.

A brief overview of what has been proposed is as follows:

1. H.R. 89: Last year COPPA came into full force, protecting the privacy of children under the age of 12. This year, the focus is on the children and adults that are over the age of 12. This bill is structure to protect the privacy of those over 12 years old.

2. H.R. 90: This bill will unmask the identity of those telemarketers whose number is unavailable on the Caller I.D.

3. H.R. 91: Online businesses, including financial institutions, which gather personal information - such as social security numbers, addresses, and phone numbers to name a few - will have to follow the privacy safeguards which would limit the use of the information gathered.

The "spam" issue is getting particular attention due to consumer outrage:

4. H.R. 95: Texas’ own Gene Green is proposing an anti-spam bill. This bill would prohibit the use of fraud to hide the origin of e-mail messages and require compliance with ISP’s anti-spam policies. Penalties for violating this would include a possible prison sentence and a hefty fine. Previously the bill passed almost unanimously in the House but died in the Senate. (See prior article.

C.A.N. (controlling the assault of nonsolicited pornography and marketing) Spam Act 2001: The purpose of this proposed legislation is to establish guidelines for unsolicited emails and require that an opt-out provision be included in the email so that consumers can have their names taken off mailing lists. Failure to comply with this legislation could cost a spammer up to $500,000. Additionally under this bill, ISPs will be able to sue for damages.

H.R. 718: Unsolicited Commercial Electronic Mail Act of 2001: The purpose of this bill is the same as the C.A.N. Spam Act 2001, however both consumers and ISPs will be able to sue for damages up to $50,000 under this act. This bill puts more power in the hands of the ISPs than the other bill. The House Energy and Commerce Committee recently gave unanimous support to the Unsolicited Commercial Electronic Mail Act of 2001. Although there is some commercial opposition the fact that there is an outcry from the public shows that there is a governmental interest and a need to continue to move forward with this bill.