| Date of Action |
Assembly Actions -
Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE |
|---|---|
| Jan 04, 2012 |
referred to codes |
| Jan 11, 2011 |
referred to codes |
Senate Bill S1670
2011-2012 Legislative Session
Sponsored By
(D, WF) Senate District
Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Codes Committee
Actions
2011-S1670 (ACTIVE) - Details
- Current Committee:
- Senate Codes
- Law Section:
- Penal Law
- Laws Affected:
- Add ยง156.40, Pen L
- Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:
-
2009-2010:
S137
2013-2014: S244
2015-2016: S4057
2011-S1670 (ACTIVE) - Summary
Establishes the crime of unlawful use of spyware and malware; unlawful use of spyware and malware is a class A misdemeanor, provided, however, that unlawful use of spyware and malware by a person who has been previously convicted within the last five years of having violated this section is a class E felony.
2011-S1670 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo
BILL NUMBER:S1670
TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the penal law, in relation to establishing the crime of
unlawful use of spyware and malware
PURPOSE:
The act aims to protect the privacy of computer users by banning the
dissemination of computer spyware and malware without the
authorization of the owner of a computer.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends section 156 of the Penal Law to ban the use of
computer spyware and malware, where spyware and malware are a
computer program when downloaded and functioning, transmits
information to a third party without the authorization of a computer
user. Section 2 establishes an effective date of the first of
November next succeeding date on which it shall have become a law.
JUSTIFICATION:
Computer users download information from the internet without truly
understanding what functions the programs will have. Many times
computer users will encounter the opportunity to download a computer
program from the internet that they believe will give them an
innocuous program that will help them organize their lives. However,
2011-S1670 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
1670
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
I N S E N A T E
January 11, 2011
___________
Introduced by Sen. SAMPSON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to establishing the crime of
unlawful use of spyware and malware
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 156.40 to
read as follows:
S 156.40 UNLAWFUL USE OF SPYWARE AND MALWARE.
1. A PERSON IS GUILTY OF UNLAWFUL USE OF SPYWARE AND MALWARE WHEN SUCH
PERSON OR ENTITY THAT IS NOT AN AUTHORIZED USER, AS DEFINED IN SUBDIVI-
SION FOUR OF THIS SECTION, WITH ACTUAL KNOWLEDGE, WITH CONSCIOUS AVOID-
ANCE OF ACTUAL KNOWLEDGE, OR WILLFULLY, CAUSES COMPUTER SOFTWARE TO BE
COPIED ONTO THE COMPUTER OF A CONSUMER IN THIS STATE AND USES THE SOFT-
WARE TO DO ANY OF THE FOLLOWING:
(A) MODIFY, THROUGH INTENTIONALLY DECEPTIVE MEANS, ANY OF THE FOLLOW-
ING SETTINGS RELATED TO THE COMPUTER'S ACCESS TO, OR USE OF, THE INTER-
NET:
(1) THE PAGE THAT APPEARS WHEN AN AUTHORIZED USER LAUNCHES AN INTERNET
BROWSER OR SIMILAR SOFTWARE PROGRAM USED TO ACCESS AND NAVIGATE THE
INTERNET.
(2) THE DEFAULT PROVIDER OR WEB PROXY THE AUTHORIZED USER USES TO
ACCESS OR SEARCH THE INTERNET.
(3) THE AUTHORIZED USER'S LIST OF BOOKMARKS USED TO ACCESS WEB PAGES.
(B) COLLECT, THROUGH INTENTIONALLY DECEPTIVE MEANS, PERSONALLY IDEN-
TIFIABLE INFORMATION THAT MEETS ANY OF THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA:
(1) IT IS COLLECTED THROUGH THE USE OF A KEYSTROKE-LOGGING FUNCTION
THAT RECORDS ALL KEYSTROKES MADE BY AN AUTHORIZED USER WHO USES THE
COMPUTER AND TRANSFERS THAT INFORMATION FROM THE COMPUTER TO ANOTHER
PERSON.
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05901-01-1
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