Lawmaker tones down anti-Gmail bill

Grok Headline matches for Lawmaker tones down anti-Gmail bill

Anti-Gmail Bill Now Allows Gmail

Anti-Gmail Bill Now Allows Gmail 05/26/2004 01:35 PM
Last month there was a lot of talk about the somewhat clueless move by a California politician to create a law that would ban Google's Gmail offering, despite the fact that it was completely optional to use. It appears that enough people (probably including those at Google itself) sat down with State Senator Liz Figueroa to explain how email works, and have convinced her to tone down the bill so that it now allows Gmail. That's right, the anti-Gmail bill now has loopholes that specifically allow Gmail. In other words, Senator Figueroa seems to have realized just how pointless the bill was in the first place and is trying to save face by adjusting it so that it still seems to have a purpose: banning a bunch of things that no one was doing, like having humans read the content of your emails to put in advertising.

Anti-Gmail Bill Introduced

Anti-Gmail Bill Introduced 04/28/2004 10:29 AM
Seth Finkelstein reports that California State Senator Liz Figueroa has introduced her bizarre bill. Press release, Info, Text. I've talked to several privacy advocates (and I'd like to think of myself as a privacy advocate, as well) and I have yet to understand any possible scenario where this bill makes sense. (If you think you can explain it, please tell me.) Let's be clear: This bill would make Gmail illegal. It wouldn't ask them to change some poor business practices, it wouldn't ask them to add privacy protections, it would just force Google to fund it some way without ads or shut it down. So why go to this drastic step? What's the harm? As I see it, there are three parts to Gmail: Receive your email. Every web email service does this, and nobody has objected. Store up to a gigabyte of email. Since this is so much more email than any other service, this could lead to some increased privacy problems. (Google could search through your archives at any time.) But this doesn't seem to be what people are objecting to, and Google has said they'll try their best to keep your email safe. Analyze your email. This seems to be what people are objecting to. But I don't see what the problem is: Google searches your email for key words, finds ads that match those key words, and shows you the ads. Then it throws all the information it generated away immediately, so no human (other than you) ever sees it. Google doesn't store any information about how many times or to who ads were shown. They don't store any information about what was in your emails. And no human ever goes and looks at your emails. So what's the big deal? How could this possibly cause a problem for anyone? I think the real problem here is that people feel uncomfortable about ads in their email. (I felt a bit uncomfortable at first too.) But to say there's a privacy problem with Gmail's ad system, without spelling out what it is, only capitalizes on people's fears. Sadly, that's exactly what thirty-one privacy and civil liberties organizations have done. Again, if you can explain the problem with Gmail to me, I'll take it back....

California senate approves anti-Gmail
bill

California senate approves anti-Gmail
bill 05/27/2004 06:14 PM

California Senate Passes Watered Down
Anti-Gmail Bill

California Senate Passes Watered Down
Anti-Gmail Bill 05/28/2004 06:27 PM
InternetWeek.com-1 hour agoThe California state Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly passed a scaled-back bill that would place some limits on Google's upcoming Gmail service, which has ...

Lawmaker moves to block Google's Gmail

Lawmaker moves to block Google's Gmail 04/13/2004 10:04 AM

California lawmaker moves to block
Google's Gmail

California lawmaker moves to block
Google's Gmail 04/13/2004 01:58 AM
SABC Apr 13 2004 6:08AM GMT

Calif. lawmaker moves to block Google's
Gmail

Calif. lawmaker moves to block Google's
Gmail 04/13/2004 01:58 PM
MSNBC Apr 13 2004 6:36PM GMT

Californian lawmaker moves to block
Google's Gmail

Californian lawmaker moves to block
Google's Gmail 04/12/2004 10:05 PM
The New Zealand Herald Apr 13 2004 2:32AM GMT

Calif. Lawmaker Moves to Block Google's
Gmail (Reuters)

Calif. Lawmaker Moves to Block Google's
Gmail (Reuters) 04/12/2004 06:17 PM
Reuters - A California state senator on Monday said she was drafting legislation to block Google Inc.'s free e-mail service "Gmail" because it would place advertising in personal messages after searching them for key words.

Yahoo! News - Calif. Lawmaker Moves to
Block Google's Gmail

Yahoo! News - Calif. Lawmaker Moves to
Block Google's Gmail 04/13/2004 03:41 PM
block Google from releasing Gmail .. What a punk-ass bitch .. drafting legislation .. drawing up a bill .. Yahoo

news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040412/wr_nm/tech_googl e_dc_1
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Ring tones not making ka-ching tones

Ring tones not making ka-ching tones 06/10/2004 10:10 PM
Verizon Wireless and Sprint say more U.S. cell phone users are tapping Net-based services such as tone downloads. But revenue still has hang-ups.

Secure Resolutions Upgrades Their
Anti-Virus Engine to Include
Anti-Spyware, Anti-Adware, Anti-Dialers,
Anti-Hoaxes, Anti-Jokes, and
Anti-Hacking Tools

Secure Resolutions Upgrades Their
Anti-Virus Engine to Include
Anti-Spyware, Anti-Adware, Anti-Dialers,
Anti-Hoaxes, Anti-Jokes, and
Anti-Hacking Tools 06/05/2005 11:14 PM
Secure Resolutions desktop security (Resolution Antivirus™) automatically detects and eliminates all types of viruses, worms, Trojans Horses, dialers, hoaxes, jokes, and hacking tools within a managed desktop security solution. [PRWEB Jun 2, 2005]

CA Bill Targets Google's "Gmail"

CA Bill Targets Google's "Gmail" 05/28/2004 06:27 PM
KRON4.com,CA-2 hours agoSACRAMENTO (AP) -- Google's new e-mail service that promised to tailor ads to e-mail content would be limited, under a bill approved by the state Senate. ...

Senate Approves Bill Concerning Gmail
Policies

Senate Approves Bill Concerning Gmail
Policies 05/27/2004 06:26 PM
WebProNews,KY-1 hour ago ... Liz Figueroa (D-Ca) that limits Gmail's ad placement procedures has been approved by the Senate by a vote of 24-8. The bill questioned Google's intention of ...

CA Bill Restricting Google's Gmail
Passes Senate

CA Bill Restricting Google's Gmail
Passes Senate 05/28/2004 12:27 AM
BeSpacific May 28 2004 4:26AM GMT

California Senate Approves Bill Curbing
Gmail

California Senate Approves Bill Curbing
Gmail 05/31/2004 08:30 PM
Source: ClickZ - The California State Senate has approved a bill putting strict curbs on e-mail providers intending to scan customer messages for advertising and other purposes. The bill, authored by Sen. Liz Figueroa, D-Fremont, was written in response to...

Anti-spam bill passed

Anti-spam bill passed 12/02/2003 01:49 AM
The U.S. House of Representatives passed anti-spam legislation that provides for prison time as well as hefty fines

Anti-File Sharing Bill Changes Name,
Little Else

Anti-File Sharing Bill Changes Name,
Little Else 06/23/2004 05:34 PM
Last week we wrote about the so-called INDUC E Act, that would outlaw inducing or even counseling someone to infringe on copyrights. The bill was supposed to be introduced last week, but some of the publicity around the leaded version made the sponsors hold back a few days. If you thought they used that time to change the bill, you were wrong. They did change the name, getting rid of the laughable "child exploitation" part in the name, but leaving the actual law the same. The bill is now called, The Inducing Infringement of Copyrights Act (IICA), which must upset those politicians who love bill names that spell out words related to the bill. Either way it's a dreadful and somewhat scary bill that would clearly outlaw file sharing networks, along with VCRs and other methods for infringing copyrights. Unfortunately, it appears to have strong bi-partisan backing, that's looking to rush it through Congress. If it did pass, it would be disastrous for the tech industry which (stupidly) is supporting it in the form of the BSA and the ESA. The RIAA is also thrilled about it. All three are missing out on the fact that they're basically trying to kill off the best distribution system that's ever been handed to them -- one that's been shown to have strong promotional value. It's amazing how badly these industries, with their pocketed politicians are shooting themselves in the foot. This bill would make it impossible to create something like the VCR or TiVo today. It's dangerous, it's stupid and it's going to damage our economy if it passes. Update: TechLawAdvisor points out the fact that "counsels" has been dropped from the bill.

Congress OKs anti-spam bill

Congress OKs anti-spam bill 12/09/2003 12:23 AM
CNN Dec 8 2003 11:22PM ET

Anti-Spyware Bill Is Back

Anti-Spyware Bill Is Back 01/06/2005 02:38 PM
As was widely expected, Mary Bono has reintro duced her anti-spyware bill to Congress, where it's expected to get approval (as it did last year, before being shut down in the Senate). Clearly, some thought has gone into the bill, and it's not as bad as some previously proposed anti-spyware laws. However, you still have to wonder if it will really help. There will be provisions in the bill that are likely to have unintended consequences, causing problems for some software products. Meanwhile, the nastiest spyware products will remain controlled by criminals who don't care about the law because they don't expect to get caught. I don't think it's the worst thing in the world, but any law should have a provision to keep an eye out for negative unintended consequences and have a way to fix those quickly. There should also be a way to monitor whether or not this actually has an impact. Otherwise, it's just going to get voted into law without any balances to make sure it doesn't do any harm, because who wants to vote in favor of spyware?

Copyright Office pitches anti-P2P bill

Copyright Office pitches anti-P2P bill 09/02/2004 05:24 PM
ZDNet Sep 2 2004 9:32PM GMT

Congress approves anti-spam bill

Congress approves anti-spam bill 12/08/2003 09:29 PM
CNN Dec 8 2003 8:35PM ET

Model Anti-Municipal Broadband Bill

Model Anti-Municipal Broadband Bill 12/22/2004 01:27 AM
Esme Vos has uncovered (and has available for download) the model bill for state legislatures to ban municipal broadband: The inestimable Vos has emerged as a firebrand for fighting back the rhetoric of incumbent teleopolies that have put out the meme that there are unfair tax breaks and unfair advantages that a municipal operation has over private enterprise. This ignores the subsidies provided--estimated at over $700 per person in Pennsylvania over the last 10 years of a failed Verizon development plan, non-refundable--and "taxes" that telcos and cable companies are often able to collect for their own coffers. Vos now posts the bill that someone--she'd like to know the individual--wrote to distribute to various legislatures under the guise of competition. Competition means not taking money from taxpayers, charging them by overpriced tariffs defended to the death, collecting and keeping funds intended for rural or impoverished citizens to have universal access, and fighting for the right to squeeze the pipes to prevent interesting competitive services from rising. Competition does mean building neutral infrastructure paid for by access fees that allow all comers to compete on a level playing field to let the market determine the best use of resources. It's strange how businesses that hate regulation in theory love how it supports their business models. Also strange how many folks who claim to want real markets only really want big businesses to be able to dictate to their markets what things cost. I looked at the innards of the Word doc that Esme posted, but the only secret information it contains is about her computer, not any previous computers. On Monday morning, she posted the list of board members of the American Legislative Exchange Council, the group behind the model legislation. Update: Sascha Meinrath calls astroturf on three organizations, including ALEC, that are behind anti-municipal telco/cable/telecom service bills, pointing out that their boards' members are mostly made up of folks that more likely have their own companies' interests at heart despite the mission statements....

Anti-DMCA bill gathers weight

Anti-DMCA bill gathers weight 06/22/2004 07:48 AM

Bush Signs Anti-Spam Bill

Bush Signs Anti-Spam Bill 12/17/2003 06:09 AM
Spammers violating the new law could be looking at stiff fines and even prison terms under legislation signed into law by the White House.

Congress passes anti-spam bill

Congress passes anti-spam bill 12/09/2003 09:45 AM
'Ham fisted' CAN-SPAM Act

Bush signs anti-spam bill

Bush signs anti-spam bill 12/17/2003 07:20 AM
Computer Weekly Dec 17 2003 6:21AM ET

Conservative group savages anti-P2P bill

Conservative group savages anti-P2P bill 09/24/2004 05:43 PM
Political wrangling over a copyright bill that could imperil some MP3 players heats up in the Senate before a vote next Thursday.

Senate to Decide on Anti-Spyware Bill

Senate to Decide on Anti-Spyware Bill 09/22/2004 06:33 PM
Anti-spyware legislation that prohibits companies from installing software on a computer without user consent has been approved by the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee. Dubbed the Spy Block Act, the bill now moves to the full Senate where it will likely be voted on before the end of the year. The Spy Block Act requires software to provide an uninstall option, as well as outlaws any software that transmits user information without explicit approval.

Anti-Spyware Bill up for Vote in
Congress

Anti-Spyware Bill up for Vote in
Congress 09/22/2004 08:33 PM

Congress OKs National Anti-Spam Bill

Congress OKs National Anti-Spam Bill 12/08/2003 09:29 PM
AP via Daily Press Dec 8 2003 8:36PM ET

Anti-Spyware Bill Gets One Step Closer

Anti-Spyware Bill Gets One Step Closer 06/17/2004 07:33 PM
Despite strong lobbying efforts from a number of large tech companies, a House panel has approv ed an anti-spyware bill that would require any software to clearly tell the user that it includes traffic tracking components. It would also prohibit keystroke logging, browser/computer hijacking and ads that can't be closed. While this (of course) won't stop the worst spyware offenders who don't really care about the law, it should slow down the proliferation of annoying and sneaky adware that's almost as bad. It's still unclear which part of the law tech companies are upset with at this point. It does seem to be clearly written to only focus on "bad" spyware.

Anti-Spyware Bill Advances in Congress

Anti-Spyware Bill Advances in Congress 06/24/2004 04:46 PM

Lawmakers Introduce Anti-Outsourcing
Bill

Lawmakers Introduce Anti-Outsourcing
Bill 03/06/2004 02:01 AM
Lawmakers introduced a bill in Congress Thursday aimed to deter U.S. companies from outsourcing jobs overseas. The Defending American Jobs Act of 2004, sponsored by 50 legislators, proposes to cut federal funding from companies that lay off workers at higher rates in the U.S. than abroad.

US anti-spyware bill clears another
hurdle

US anti-spyware bill clears another
hurdle 06/25/2004 07:06 AM
ZDNet UK Jun 25 2004 11:23AM GMT

Bush to sign anti-phishing bill

Bush to sign anti-phishing bill 07/15/2004 08:29 AM
Mandatory minumum sentences for ID theft

No One Likes California's Anti-Spyware
Bill

No One Likes California's Anti-Spyware
Bill 09/16/2004 09:18 PM
It looks like almost no one is happy with the proposed anti-spyware legislation in California. Companies aren't happy with it because they're afraid it may ban perfectly reasonable applications, while privac y groups say it's worse than no law at all since it's way too narrowly focused. Of course, it sounds like this narrow focus is making some of the companies that originally opposed the bill now view it in a more favorable light.

House Panel OKs Anti-Spyware Bill

House Panel OKs Anti-Spyware Bill 06/17/2004 02:46 PM
Internet News Jun 17 2004 7:22PM GMT

Congress Debates Anti-Spyware Bill

Congress Debates Anti-Spyware Bill 04/16/2005 02:44 PM

Grok Description matches for Lawmaker tones down anti-Gmail bill
GrokA matches for Lawmaker tones down anti-Gmail bill

Lawmaker tones down anti-Gmail bill

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