Washington House Democrats

Best in Nation State Spyware law updated

March 17, 2008

OLYMPIA – During today’s bill-signing ceremony at the Capital, Governor Christine Gregoire approved an update to the landmark spyware law in SHB 2879 . Washington’s spyware law has been called the best in the nation being the only State law used in court to stop spyware on consumer home computers.

The current law pushed by Morris in 2006 is a consumer protection measure that prohibits the collection of personal information via “spyware,” which generally refers to software on a user's computer used to monitor, collect, and transmit personally identifiable information without the user's knowledge or consent.

Morris was prime mover in the original legislation that cracked down on spyware in 2006. But as spyware technology evolves the State Attorney General will bring updates to the legislature to keep up.

“This legislation will help bring more successful prosecutions against spyware creators and users and protect our residents from identity theft more effectively by keeping up with new techniques in electronic theft,” said Morris.

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