House Passes File Sharing Bill

The House on Tuesday passed a bill that would mandate a policy banning the use of file sharing software on federal computers and networks, along with those used by contractors.

H.R. 4098, introduced in November, directs the Office of Management and Budget to issue rules that forbid the tools and allow agencies to seek exemptions for legitimate uses on a case-by-case basis. The House vote -- 408 to 13 -- will bolster national security by safeguarding sensitive information, backers of the bill said. "We can no longer ignore the threat to sensitive government information, businesses and consumers that insecure peer-to-peer networks pose," said Edolphus Towns (D-NY), the bill's sponsor, in a statement. "Congress acted today to protect the American people by helping to prevent inadvertent security breaches on insecure networks."

The bill now moves to the Senate.