I 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7176 
To prohibit the installation on a computer of certain ‘‘peer-to-peer’’ file 
sharing software without first providing notice and obtaining consent 
from the owner or authorized user of the computer. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 27, 2008 
Mrs. BONO MACK (for herself, Mr. BARROW, and Mr. BARTON of Texas) in-
troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on En-
ergy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To prohibit the installation on a computer of certain ‘‘peer- 
to-peer’’ file sharing software without first providing no-
tice and obtaining consent from the owner or authorized 
user of the computer. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Informed P2P User 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. CONDUCT PROHIBITED. 
(a) IMPROPER INSTALLATION WITHOUT NOTICE AND 
CONSENT.—It is unlawful for any person who is not the 
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owner or authorized user of a protected computer to cause 
or induce the owner or authorized user of the protected 
computer to install any component of a peer-to-peer file 
sharing program that intentionally obtains files on the 
protected computer, or makes such files available to an-
other computer without first providing clear and con-
spicuous notice that such program obtains files on the pro-
tected computer, or makes such files available to another 
computer, and obtaining the informed consent to the in-
stallation of such program for such activities from the 
owner or authorized user of the protected computer. 
(b) PREVENTING THE DISABLING OR REMOVAL OF 
CERTAIN SOFTWARE.—It is unlawful for any person who 
is not the owner or authorized user of a protected com-
puter to prevent reasonable efforts by such owner or au-
thorized user to— 
(1) block the installation of a peer-to-peer file 
sharing program that intentionally obtains files on 
the protected computer, or makes such files available 
to another computer; or 
(2) disable or remove any peer-to-peer file shar-
ing program that intentionally obtains files on the 
protected computer, or makes such files available to 
another computer. 
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SEC. 3. ENFORCEMENT. 
(a) UNFAIR
AND DECEPTIVE ACTS
AND PRAC-
TICES.—A violation of section 2 shall be treated as a viola-
tion of a rule defining an unfair or deceptive act or prac-
tice prescribed under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal 
Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)). 
(b) 
FEDERAL
TRADE
COMMISSION
ENFORCE-
MENT.—The Federal Trade Commission shall enforce this 
Act in the same manner, by the same means, and with 
the same jurisdiction as though all applicable terms and 
provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act were in-
corporated into and made a part of this Act. 
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 
As used in this Act— 
(1) the term ‘‘protected computer’’ has the 
meaning given such term in section 1030(e)(2) of 
title 18, United States Code; and 
(2) the term ‘‘peer-to-peer file sharing pro-
gram’’ means computer software that allows the 
computer on which such software is installed— 
(A) to designate files available for trans-
mission to another computer; 
(B) to transmit files directly to another 
computer; and 
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(C) to request the transmission of files 
from another computer. 
Æ 
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