IIB 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1319 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
DECEMBER 9, 2009 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation 
AN ACT 
To prevent the inadvertent disclosure of information on a 
computer through certain ‘‘peer-to-peer’’ file sharing pro-
grams without first providing notice and obtaining con-
sent from an 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, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Informed P2P User 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. CONDUCT PROHIBITED. 
(a) NOTICE AND CONSENT REQUIRED FOR FILE- 
SHARING SOFTWARE.— 
(1) NOTICE AND CONSENT REQUIRED PRIOR TO 
INSTALLATION.—It is unlawful for any covered enti-
ty to install on a protected computer or offer or 
make available for installation or download on a pro-
tected computer a covered file-sharing program un-
less such program— 
(A) immediately prior to the installation or 
downloading of such program— 
(i) provides clear and conspicuous no-
tice that such program allows files on the 
protected computer to be made available 
for searching by and copying to one or 
more other computers; and 
(ii) obtains the informed consent to 
the installation of such program from an 
owner or authorized user of the protected 
computer; and 
(B) immediately prior to initial activation 
of a file-sharing function of such program— 
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(i) provides clear and conspicuous no-
tice of which files on the protected com-
puter are to be made available for search-
ing by and copying to another computer; 
and 
(ii) obtains the informed consent from 
an owner or authorized user of the pro-
tected computer for such files to be made 
available for searching and copying to an-
other computer. 
(2) 
NON-APPLICATION
TO
PRE-INSTALLED 
SOFTWARE.—Nothing in paragraph (1)(A) shall 
apply to the installation of a covered file-sharing 
program on a computer prior to the first sale of 
such computer to an end user, provided that notice 
is provided to the end user who first purchases the 
computer that such a program has been installed on 
the computer. 
(3) NON-APPLICATION
TO
SOFTWARE
UP-
GRADES.—Once the notice and consent requirements 
of paragraphs (1)(A) and (1)(B) have been satisfied 
with respect to the installation or initial activation 
of a covered file-sharing program on a protected 
computer after the effective date of this Act, the no-
tice and consent requirements of paragraphs (1)(A) 
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and (1)(B) do not apply to the installation or initial 
activation of software modifications or upgrades to 
a covered file-sharing program installed on that pro-
tected computer at the time of the software modi-
fications or upgrades so long as those software 
modifications or upgrades do not— 
(A) make files on the protected computer 
available for searching by and copying to one or 
more other computers that were not already 
made available by the covered file-sharing pro-
gram for searching by and copying to one or 
more other computers; or 
(B) add to the types or locations of files 
that can be made available by the covered file- 
sharing program for searching by and copying 
to one or more other computers. 
(b) PREVENTING THE DISABLING OR REMOVAL OF 
CERTAIN SOFTWARE.—It is unlawful for any covered enti-
ty— 
(1) to prevent the reasonable efforts of an 
owner or authorized user of a protected computer 
from blocking the installation of a covered file-shar-
ing program or file-sharing function thereof; or 
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(ii) the searching of files on the pro-
tected computer on which such program is 
installed and the copying of any such file 
to a computer owned by another person— 
(I) at the initiative of such other 
computer and without requiring any 
action by an owner or authorized user 
of the protected computer on which 
such program is installed; and 
(II) without requiring an owner 
or authorized user of the protected 
computer on which such program is 
installed to have selected or des-
ignated a computer owned by another 
person as the recipient of any such 
file; and 
(iii) the protected computer on which 
such program is installed to search files on 
one or more other computers owned by an-
other person using the same or a compat-
ible program, application, or software, and 
to copy files from the other computer to 
such protected computer; and 
(B) does not include a program, applica-
tion, or software designed primarily to— 
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(i) operate as a server that is acces-
sible over the Internet using the Internet 
Domain Name system; 
(ii) transmit or receive email mes-
sages, instant messaging, real-time audio 
or video communications, or real-time voice 
communications; or 
(iii) provide network or computer se-
curity, network management, hosting and 
backup services, maintenance, diagnostics, 
technical support or repair, or to detect or 
prevent fraudulent activities; and 
(5) the term ‘‘initial activation of a file-sharing 
function’’ means— 
(A) the first time the file sharing function 
of a covered file-sharing program is activated 
on a protected computer; and 
(B) does not include subsequent uses of 
the program on that protected computer. 
SEC. 5. RULEMAKING. 
The Federal Trade Commission may promulgate reg-
ulations under section 553 of title 5, United States Code 
to accomplish the purposes of this Act. In promulgating 
rules under this Act, the Federal Trade Commission shall 
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not require the deployment or use of any specific products 
or technologies. 
SEC. 6. NONAPPLICATION TO GOVERNMENT. 
The prohibition in section 2 of this Act shall not 
apply to the Federal Government or any instrumentality 
of the Federal Government, nor to any State government 
or government of a subdivision of a State. 
Passed the House of Representatives December 8, 
2009. 
Attest: 
LORRAINE C. MILLER, 
Clerk. 
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