715.1 LEGISLATIVE INTENT.
It is the intent of the general assembly to protect owners and
operators of computers in this state from the use of spyware and
malware that is deceptively or surreptitiously installed on the
owner's or the operator's computer. Section History: Recent Form
2005 Acts, ch 94, §1
715.2 TITLE.
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Computer
Spyware Protection Act". Section History: Recent Form
2005 Acts, ch 94, §3
715.4 PROHIBITIONS -- TRANSMISSION AND USE OF
SOFTWARE.
It is unlawful for a person who is not an owner or operator of a
computer to transmit computer software to such computer knowingly or
with conscious avoidance of actual knowledge, and to use such
software to do any of the following:
1. Modify, through intentionally deceptive means, settings of a
computer that control any of the following:
a. The web page that appears when an owner or operator
launches an internet browser or similar computer software used to
access and navigate the internet.
b. The default provider or web proxy that an owner or
operator uses to access or search the internet.
c. An owner's or an operator's list of bookmarks used to
access web pages.
2. Collect, through intentionally deceptive means, personally
identifiable information through any of the following means:
a. The use of a keystroke-logging function that records
keystrokes made by an owner or operator of a computer and transfers
that information from the computer to another person.
b. In a manner that correlates personally identifiable
information with data respecting all or substantially all of the
websites visited by an owner or operator, other than websites
operated by the person collecting such information.
c. By extracting from the hard drive of an owner's or an
operator's computer, an owner's or an operator's social security
number, tax identification number, driver's license number, passport
number, any other government-issued identification number, account
balances, or overdraft history.
3. Prevent, through intentionally deceptive means, an owner's or
an operator's reasonable efforts to block the installation of, or to
disable, computer software by causing computer software that the
owner or operator has properly removed or disabled to automatically
reinstall or reactivate on the computer.
4. Intentionally misrepresent that computer software will be
uninstalled or disabled by an owner's or an operator's action.
5. Through intentionally deceptive means, remove, disable, or
render inoperative security, antispyware, or antivirus computer
software installed on an owner's or an operator's computer.
6. Take control of an owner's or an operator's computer by doing
any of the following:
a. Accessing or using a modem or internet service for the
purpose of causing damage to an owner's or an operator's computer or
causing an owner or operator to incur financial charges for a service
that the owner or operator did not authorize.
b. Opening multiple, sequential, stand-alone advertisements
in an owner's or an operator's internet browser without the
authorization of an owner or operator and which a reasonable computer
user could not close without turning off the computer or closing the
internet browser.
7. Modify any of the following settings related to an owner's or
an operator's computer access to, or use of, the internet:
a. Settings that protect information about an owner or
operator for the purpose of taking personally identifiable
information of the owner or operator.
b. Security settings for the purpose of causing damage to a
computer.
8. Prevent an owner's or an operator's reasonable efforts to
block the installation of, or to disable, computer software by doing
any of the following:
a. Presenting the owner or operator with an option to decline
installation of computer software with knowledge that, when the
option is selected by the authorized user, the installation
nevertheless proceeds.
b. Falsely representing that computer software has been
disabled. Section History: Recent Form
2005 Acts, ch 94, §4
Referred to in § 715.6
715.5 OTHER PROHIBITIONS.
It is unlawful for a person who is not an owner or operator of a
computer to do any of the following with regard to the computer:
1. Induce an owner or operator to install a computer software
component onto the owner's or the operator's computer by
intentionally misrepresenting that installing computer software is
necessary for security or privacy reasons or in order to open, view,
or play a particular type of content.
2. Using intentionally deceptive means to cause the execution of
a computer software component with the intent of causing an owner or
operator to use such component in a manner that violates any other
provision of this chapter. Section History: Recent Form
2005 Acts, ch 94, §5
Referred to in § 715.6
715.6 EXCEPTIONS.
Sections 715.4 and 715.5 shall not apply to the monitoring of, or
interaction with, an owner's or an operator's internet or other
network connection, service, or computer, by a telecommunications
carrier, cable operator, computer hardware or software provider, or
provider of information service or interactive computer service for
network or computer security purposes, diagnostics, technical
support, maintenance, repair, authorized updates of computer software
or system firmware, authorized remote system management, or
detection, criminal investigation, or prevention of the use of or
fraudulent or other illegal activities prohibited in this chapter in
connection with a network, service, or computer software, including
scanning for and removing computer software prescribed under this
chapter. Nothing in this chapter shall limit the rights of providers
of wire and electronic communications under 18 U.S.C. § 2511. Section History: Recent Form
2005 Acts, ch 94, §6; 2007 Acts, ch 126, §108; 2007 Acts, ch 215,
§257
715.7 CRIMINAL PENALTIES.
1. A person who commits an unlawful act under this chapter is
guilty of an aggravated misdemeanor.
2. A person who commits an unlawful act under this chapter and
who causes pecuniary losses exceeding one thousand dollars to a
victim of the unlawful act is guilty of a class "D" felony. Section History: Recent Form
2005 Acts, ch 94, §7
715.8 VENUE FOR CRIMINAL VIOLATIONS.
For the purpose of determining proper venue, a violation of this
chapter shall be considered to have been committed in any county in
which any of the following apply:
1. An act was performed in furtherance of the violation.
2. The owner or operator who is the victim of the violation has a
place of business in this state.
3. The defendant has control or possession of any proceeds of the
violation, or of any books, records, documents, property, financial
instrument, computer software, computer program, computer data, or
other material or objects used in furtherance of the violation.
4. The defendant unlawfully accessed a computer or computer
network by wires, electromagnetic waves, microwaves, or any other
means of communication.
5. The defendant resides.
6. A computer used as an object or an instrument in the
commission of the violation was located at the time of the violation.
Section History: Recent Form
2005 Acts, ch 94, §8