Pretexting, Social engineering ban stopped by MPAA
A California bill outlawing the use of pretexting, or telling someone you’re someone else to obtain records and information about that person, has been stopped by lobbyists of the MPAA.
Written by state Sen. Debra Bowen, SB1666 would have prevented investigators or other enterprising persons from making “false, fictitious or fraudulent” statements in order to obtain otherwise private information about an individual. Under the bill, victims would have had the right to sue for damaged.
Goons from the MPAA, or the Motion Picture Association of America, stopped the bill after an initial vote of 30-0 in favor. After the MPAA intervened citing investigations into piracy that would be halted by such a bill, the vote changed to 33-27.
This vote occured 2 days before the HP board pretexting investigation.