CNET: FTC to shine light on spyware

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) plans to have a full day of hearings to get input as to what exactly "spyware" is, and what regulations may be necessary to make sure it doesn't do insidious things. The debate seems to be forming up much like the early anti-spam debate, with different groups trying to include different swathes of the industry in the definition of the pejorative term. At the most extreme, any form of software with commercial messages would be considered "spyware," rather than the nicer-sounding "adware." At its most narrow, groups want to paint only those companies fraudulently or surreptitiously installing software on people computer to be tarred with the label.

One of the problems surfacing more recently has been a gaggle of pieces of state legislation, either proposed or passed, that may make it difficult for companies to comply with one jurisdiction without running afoul of another. FTC attorney Beth Delaney termed the hearings "a first step."