The author of a bill outlawing the distribution of spyware said he will re-introduce the bill next year.

Sen. Keith Kreiman, D-Bloomfield, introduced a bill March 1 proposing to make the distribution of spyware a criminal offense. The bill, Senate File 2200, was assigned to committee March 2 and didn’t make it out before the deadline Friday.

The bill deals mostly with personal information being shared with a third party without a person’s knowledge.

“This bill is definitely important; there is currently no state or federal legislation governing this,” Kreiman said.

The initial use of spyware is malicious, said Doug Jacobson, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering.

Spyware is any application that is put on a computer without the user’s knowledge. It collects, stores and transfers information to or for a third party, Jacobson said. It can also be used for tracking purposes.

The bill was co-authored by Andrew Smith, a legal intern from Drake working with Kreiman. It was drafted to mirror a piece of legislation currently in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The bill is dead until next session in January, when Kreiman said he plans to reintroduce it.

There would be exceptions for uses by some groups, such as in law enforcement. Kreiman said people should have the right to authorize the use of their personal information.

State Sen. Herman Quirmbach, D-Ames, said while he was not familiar with the piece of legislation, it is something he would be interested in learning more about.

“This is a very important area where we do need legislation to protect people,” he said.

Quirmbach said with more people using computers in their daily lives, privacy needs to be protected and the security of computer communications maintained or improved.

Investigators said spy software is a growing danger.

“Spyware increases the vulnerability for the misuse of information,” said ISU Police Capt. Gene Deisinger.

Electronic eavesdropping leads to identity theft, credit card theft and harassment, Deisinger said. Because he is not familiar with the legislation, he said he wasn’t sure whether it would be beneficial.

Spyware is placed without detection easily and is difficult to trace back to its source.

Some spyware programs are also used to monitor what types of products are purchased, which Web sites a user visits and how often a user visits.

Jim Davis, interim director of Academic Information Technologies, said marketers use this information to formulate advertising strategies.

Davis said it would benefit the Legislature to define what spyware is and what type of uses are illegal.

ISU students who suspect they may be victims of spyware can visit the Academic Information Technologies Web site, www.ait.iastate.edu. The site contains tips for avoiding viruses and software to help treat infections.