The powerful House Commerce Committee on Wednesday made anti-spyware legislation a top priority, with members hoping to vote it out of committee in the next two to three weeks.
"This is on the fast track, and we hope to be marking this bill up in the very near future," said committee chairman Joe Barton (R-Texas).
The committee devoted its first hearing of the new session to exploring anti-spyware bill HR29, or the Spy Act.
The bill is expected to garner wide support in the House because it's basically a reintroduction of the former HR2929, which passed the House by a 399-1 vote in the last session.
As with HR2929, HR29 is sponsored by Rep. Mary Bono (R-California).
The bill exponentially increases fines against abusers as well, authorizing the Federal Trade Commission to fine violators up to $3 million per infraction.
HR29's significantly lower bill number this session "shows you how the priority has shifted" among lawmakers increasingly alarmed and irritated by the prevalence of spyware throughout cyberspace, Barton said.
Several at Wednesday's hearings recounted spyware horror stories involving family members, with Barton commenting that he was forced to buy a new computer for his daughter after spyware clogged its operating system beyond repair.
"We don't want to necessarily stop those third-party cookies from working," said Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Florida), chairman of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection.
Ari Schwartz, associate director of the Center for Democracy and Technology, said the FTC needs more resources to nab violators.
"Raising the penalties gives them more power, but it won't be effective if they can't use it," he said.
Several lawmakers, meanwhile, said any spyware bill should also include criminal penalties.