The Federal Trade Commission this week told the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation that it favors legislation granting it new powers to seek civil penalties in spyware cases.The federal agency said it wants authority to assess monetary penalties when other enforcement options–such as seeking consumer redress, or making the operators give up their ill-gotten gains–are not appropriate, or are insufficient to deter spyware distributors. A stiff civil penalty, said the FTC, may serve as a strong deterrent.