Legislation granting the president internet-killing powers is to be re-introduced soon to a Senate committee, the proposal’s chief sponsor told Wired.com on Friday.
The resurgence of the so-called “kill switch” legislation came the same day Egyptians faced an internet blackout designed to counter massive demonstrations in that country.
The bill, which has bipartisan support, is being floated by Sen. Susan Collins, the Republican ranking member on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. The proposed legislation, which Collins said would not give the president the same power Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak is exercising to quell dissent, sailed through the Homeland Security Committee in December but expired with the new Congress weeks later.
The bill is designed to protect against “significant” cyber threats before they cause damage, Collins said.
“My legislation would provide a mechanism for the government to work with the private sector in the event of a true cyber emergency,” Collins said in an e-mail Friday. “It would give our nation the best tools available to swiftly respond to a significant threat.”
The timing of when the legislation would be re-introduced was not immediately clear, as kinks to it are being worked out.
An aide to the Homeland Security committee described the bill as one that does not mandate the shuttering of the entire internet. Instead, it would authorize the president to demand turning off access to so-called “critical infrastructure” where necessary.
I used to think my neighbor was a bit warped to keep all his HAM radio stuff up and running. But thru it all he always told me " nobody knows who I am when I'm on and TPTB don't know I have it and I can communicate to anybody in the world"
ReplyDeleteI got to thinking about that whole scenario & realized that we on this country have really forgotten most of the basics and now are completely reliant upon somebody else to do almost everything for us.
Hell, nobody cooks anymore - going back almost 2 generations now; they couldn't make a loaf of bread if you offered them a pound of gold
We have just about forgot how to walk more than a couple hundred feet
We forgot long ago how to do math with a pencil, relying on our computers instead
I was recently reading a census from 1857 for my town - then population of 5,100 persons. Man - they ALL had jobs and they ALL made shit!
Candlemakers, masons, chairmaker, millwright, blacksmith. stonecutter, brewer, coppersmith, farmer, creamery, wheel maker, pottery brewer- shit, the list was incredible!
Maybe it's about time we stop "moving forward" at breakneck speed, take a little breather and get back to some basics.
How about letting the ISPs decide if there's a cyber security threat like they have been doing until now? This is an obvious ruse for the government to stick its nose once more into areas it really doesn't belong in, but I'm not naive, something like the internet is seen as a potential threat to all governments everywhere that have some variation of leadership by other than a democratic format. I know this will pass Congress because TPTB want to have this potential control, but it's a crock pure and simple.
ReplyDeleteIf our government improved its behavior around the world, you wouldn't have so many potential threats and there wouldn't be reason for this level of concern. But we all know how difficult it is for the government to apply any policy changes, look how difficult it is for them to understand what is going on in Egypt. People everywhere want a decent economic format as well as political liberty, who are we to say what the Egyptians should develop? How about letting them decide for themselves? As long as there aren't any 'terrorists' threatening us, we should stand by and let them work this out themselves without our pontificating with hypocritical, empty platitudes. Our lectures in the public discourse are falling increasingly on deaf ears.
9:24 and 11:19 I CONCUR! IT'S ALL UNCONSTITITUTIONAL! DRAW A LINE,STAND AND FIGHT!
ReplyDeleteHelp me to understand something....Obama criticizes Egypt for shutting down their internet but he wants the same power for himself?
ReplyDeleteAnd 52% of the U.S. population voted for this empty suit? We are too stupid to survive as a country.