Utah, the first state to pass a law regulating spyware and other advertising software, is facing a court challenge from online advertising company When U, which says the new law set to begin May 3 violates free-speech guarantees and could unfairly harm its business.
Utah became the first state in the nation to pass a law this week regulating spyware and other advertising software. But industry groups are outraged, saying the law that could affect online adult businesses may become a model for other states to follow.
A Senate subcommittee revised a bill this week that broadly targets several aspects of the Internet that lawmakers consider "noxious and harmful." At the top of the committee's list of targets is spyware and adware, which lawmakers believe are becoming the next big scourge on the Internet.
Congress is currently reviewing legislation that would outlaw spyware and adware. According to reports, the bill was scribed by the threesome that first introduced the Can-Spam Act of 2004.
