P2P ban bill gets House approval, on to Senate

The U.S. House of Representatives last week passed legislation that would restrict the use of peer-to-peer (P2P) software on federal computers. The Secure Federal File Sharing Act, introduced by Rep. Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y., bans the "recreational" use of file-sharing software on federal systems and networks, including those owned by government contractors. The federal Office of Management and Budget must approve other uses in a case-by-case basis. The bill, which the U.S. Senate now will consider, comes in response to several incidents of sensitive documents being exposed in federal file-sharing networks. — DK