Spyware Study Released, Reviewed by FTC

November 20th, 2003 by Loren Baker, Editor | 1 Comment

The Center For Democracy and Technology released a report criticizing spyware and downloadable adware programs for deceiving consumers and wreaking havoc with their computers.

The Washington, D.C.-based CDT is a public policy non-profit that advocates privacy, freedom of expression and open use of Internet technologies — and challenging surveillance on the Net is one of its top issues.

The PDF report, “Ghosts in Our Machines: Background and Policy Proposals on the ‘Spyware’ Problem,” was released on Wednesday, addresses what the CDT considers the growing problem of spyware, which it defines as everything from targeted advertising programs to keystroke loggers and screen capture utilities that can be used to steal passwords to legitimate applications with weak privacy protections. The report offers advice to consumers about combating the software and it reviews pending legislation, which it finds wanting.

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