Alaska Governor Signs Anti-Adware Law

No surprise, but Gov. Murkowski signed SB 140 into law yesterday, enacting the most problematic anti-adware law to date. In signing the law, the governor said: “By signing this bill, I am sending a strong message that we will not tolerate those who would use the Internet to dupe vulnerable Alaskans.” Given that the law takes power away from consumers to pick their own software and instead empowers trademark owners to squelch competition, there may be multiple parties who are duping Alaskans in this context. Still no word yet on if there’s going to be a challenge to the law and, if so, who will lead it.