House Approves Measure To Combat Identity Theft

May 22, 2007, WASHINGTON – The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation to protect consumers from computer spyware that identity thieves can use to steal personal information, said U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon.

“In our increasingly high-tech world, consumers deserve strong, reasonable measures to protect privacy and personal information,” said Gordon, a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees issues and policies affecting the Internet.

“More needs to be done to combat identity theft, and this bill will help.”

Today, the House approved H.R. 1525, the Internet Spyware Prevention Act. The bill prohibits anyone from intentionally using computer programs or codes, often called spyware, to hinder a computer’s security features, to commit another crime, or to gather someone else’s personal information, such as Social Security numbers, bank account numbers or credit card numbers.

“Spyware is extremely dangerous because it allows someone to gather personal information from a computer user without their consent,” said Gordon. “These programs can cause computers to slow down or crash, and in the worst cases, they can lead to identity theft.”

The Federal Trade Commission estimates that stolen personal information results in 9 million cases of identity theft each year in the U.S.

Gordon has co-sponsored other measures to protect private information, including the Securely Protect Yourself Against Cyber Trespass Act and the Social Security Number Protection Act.