MediaPost: Leading Internet Providers Oppose Passage of Spyware Control Act

Utah doctrine:
Shoot first, ask later

Almost all of the biggest Internet companies signed a letter together to lobby Utah not to sign into law an anti-spyware provision. While the intent behind the law may have been good, the legal writers appear to have been supremely ignorant of the Internet, catching all sorts of normal activities in the act's overly-broad definitions of "spyware."

The Internet companies are especially fearful of the act because it is an example of an indigenous company with some influence going to its state legislature to arm itself against an Internet company in another state. 1800contacts.com decided to appeal for a new law in Utah in addition to suing an adware company - WhenU - as others have tried to do.

(Thanks to Reader Ben Edelman for pointing out that 1800contacts.com actually had sued WhenU. His dissenting opinion on the law can be found on his site.)