Informed P2P User Act passes House committee

House Committee Pushing P2P File Sharing Bill [Multichannel News]

Today the U.S. House of Representatives Energy & Commerce Committee passed a bill that would impose new rules on peer-to-peer software. Called the Informed P2P User Act, it would require that P2P programs provide users with conspicuous notice of the program's features and require users to opt-in to a P2P program's installation on a computer.

In addition, the bill would require P2P software developers to make it easy for users to uninstall or block P2P programs on their system. Several other Internet applications - like email clients and instant messaging - were specifically exempted from the requirements in the bill, so as not to confuse the purpose of the legislation, which is designed to keep users from inadvertently sharing sensitive personal or financial information with the Internet at-large.

Earlier this year, P2P applications came under fire as it was revealed that the schematics for a new Marine One, the president's helicopter, were downloaded by foreign agents via an unsecured P2P connection on a military contractor's computer.

The Informed P2P User Act now awaits action on the House floor.