The effort stalled in Congress in 2004 when the House of Representatives approved the so-called Spy Act by a 399-1 margin, but the Senate never voted. Even though this week's hearing is a formality, the process is being closely watched by technology companies because it could result in changes to the legislation this time around.
Anti-spyware bill gets new life
Backers of a proposed federal law to regulate spyware are trying again.
Declan McCullagh Former Senior Writer
Declan McCullagh is the chief political correspondent for CNET. You can e-mail him or follow him on Twitter as declanm. Declan previously was a reporter for Time and the Washington bureau chief for Wired and wrote the Taking Liberties section and Other People's Money column for CBS News' Web site.