I think I'm quoted in that same piece.
Another one of the concerns was that someone might want to buy software from a software vendor, and if it was outside of the 18 months, the person they're buying from might report the consumer as a spammer, which I didn't think was a particularly significant concern.
I frankly don't think many of those other concerns are realistic either. The truth of the matter is, if the concern is around the definition of a computer program—and I alluded to that in my opening—I think we have the ability to address the very narrow concerns that may be raised by that broad definition. So there's the issue, for example, of Java script, where if someone is accessing a web page, it runs automatically. In that sense, yes, you'd need to obtain consent. If we can exclude that kind of automated program where someone has effectively already provided consent by virtue of their preferences on their web browser, I think we actually deal with that.
For other instances, when we are talking about software programs that are downloaded, then absolutely you ought to obtain consent. The whole premise of spyware is that this stuff is inserted surreptitiously into people's computers without their notice or consent. The whole problem with the Sony rootkit case was when someone went to put a music CD into their program, it installed things on their computer without their knowledge and engaged in surreptitious activity. That's precisely what we're trying to stop, and the legislation tries to do exactly that.