A bill that would help protect consumers from spyware was approved on Thursday by a U.S. House Energy and Commerce subcommittee. According to Yahoo! News, the bill would require software distributors and advertisers to clearly notify and get consent from consumers before their programs can be loaded onto a computer. Violators face up to $3 million for each unfair or deceptive act. The legislation will now move to the full committee for consideration.

“Protecting Internet users from dangerous programs that steal consumers’ identities, invade their software or just plain harass them is a top priority,” said Democrat John Dingell of Michigan, chairman of the full committee.

The Energy and Commerce Committee plans to hold a May hearing on computer data breaches at retailer TJX Cos. Inc., which recently reported information was stolen on more than 45 million credit and debit cards.

The President’s Identity Theft Task Force, created by George Bush in May 2007, announced a strategic plan this week, detailing numerous recommendations for increased federal prevention of identity theft.

According to IDG News Service the task force plan focuses on ways to improve criminal prosecutions of identity theft; to improve data protection for sensitive consumer information maintained by the public sector, private sector and consumers; to provide better guidance for consumers and the business community; and to improve recovery and assistance for consumers.

To do so, it will establish a national identity theft law enforcement center and create a multi-year public education campaign about the dangers of ID theft. It will also implement national data protection standards for private companies that collect and sell personal information, as well as a national law requiring companies to tell customers when their personal data has been compromised.

Created in 2006, the task force is co-chaired by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Deborah Platt Majoras. ID theft is a “personal invasion, done in secret, that can rob innocent men and women of their good names,” says Gonzales.

The Indiana Senate has approved legislation to prevent identity theft. According to Inside INdiana Business, Senate Bill 403 would allow consumers to freeze their credit reports. That freeze would restrict credit reporting agencies from releasing a credit report without specific authorization from that consumer. It also requires a consumer reporting agency to develop a secure procedure for electronically requesting a security freeze. The bill is now in the hands of Governor Daniels, who will either sign or veto the bill or let it pass without his signature.

Louisiana, Texas, Vermont, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina and Washington have all enacted similar laws.

According to the Associated Press, the Oregon Senate unanimously passed a bill to penalize identity thieves, moving the proposed legislation to the House. The bill would create a new crime of aggravated identity theft, punishable by a maximum prison sentence of 10 years and a $100,000 fine.

The crime would apply to repeat offenders and those who commit 10 or more crimes within six months, possess personal identifications of 10 or more people without authorization and cause losses of $10,000 or more within six months.

“We need to keep doing minor things like this to try to stay ahead of the certified-smart bad guys who are stealing people’s identities,” said Sen. Roger Beyer, R-Molalla.

According to the Associated Press, a former Social Security Administration employee pleaded not guilty to charges of passing confidential information taken from a government computer to identity thieves who charged $2.5 million in illegal credit card purchases.

Jennifer Batiste, 45, of Los Angeles, was arrested last week and released on $5,000 bond. She was charged with conspiracy, accessing a protected computer for fraud, and disclosing a Social Security number. If convicted of all charges, she could face up to 15 years in prison.

Police reports say she took $20 bribes each time she provided identity thieves with information taken from a government database that holds Social Security numbers, mothers’ maiden names and birthdays. The thieves used the data to open new credit card accounts.