CISPA: Big Brother’s Latest Assault On Liberty
Remember SOPA – the Internet censorship legislation that went by the misleading moniker Stop Online Piracy Act, which was rightfully sidelined by a backlash of public protest?
You didn’t really think it would be that easy, did you? Indeed, never let it be said Congress is willing to let a bad and wholly misguided idea die on the vine. The Big Brother of the Internet is back, this time under the guise of the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA).
The legislation, a brainchild of House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) and ranking member Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.), proposes to amend the National Security Act of 1947 to allow for greater sharing of “cyber threat intelligence” between the U.S. government and the private sector, according to this rundown by Digital Trends:
The bill defines “cyber threat intelligence” as any information pertaining to vulnerabilities of, or threats to, networks or systems owned and operated by the U.S. government, or U.S. companies; or efforts to “degrade, disrupt, or destroy” such systems or networks; or the theft or “misappropriation” of any private or government information, including intellectual property.
Sounds innocuous enough, but like its twisted relation SOPA, the devil is in the details. This from the Center for Democracy and Technology:
* The bill has a very broad, almost unlimited definition of the information that can be shared with government agencies notwithstanding privacy and other laws;
* The bill is likely to lead to expansion of the government’s role in the monitoring of private communications as a result of this sharing;
* It is likely to shift control of government cybersecurity efforts from civilian agencies to the military;
* Once the information is shared with the government, it wouldn’t have to be used for cybersecurity, but could instead be used for any purpose that is not specifically prohibited.
CISPA would “give companies a free pass to monitor and collect communications, including huge amounts of personal data like your text messages and emails,” according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation. “Companies could ship that data wholesale to the government or anyone else provided they claim it was for “cybersecurity purposes.”
That means a company like Google, Facebook, Twitter, or AT&T could intercept your emails and text messages, send copies to one another and to the government, and modify those communications or prevent them from reaching their destination if it fits into their plan to stop “cybersecurity” threats.
Worst of all, the stated definition of “cybersecurity purpose” is so broad that it leaves the door open to censor any speech that a company believes would “degrade the network.” Parts of the proposed legislation specifically state that cybersecurity purpose includes protecting against the “theft or misappropriation of private or government information” including “intellectual property.” Such sweeping language would give companies and the government new powers to monitor and censor communications for copyright infringement.
After breezing through the House Intelligence committee by a bipartisan 17-1 vote in December, picking up 106 legislative cosponsors, and inexplicably gaining favor with several high profile tech titans, CISPA is on track for a floor vote as early as next week.
But it might still meet a few roadblocks and CISPA’s authors most recently gave the bill a few tweaks, although they largely proved marginal. This from CNET:
The legislation remains so broad that the NSA could vacuum up “all sorts of sensitive information like Internet use information and the contents of e-mails,” ACLU legislative counsel Michelle Richardson told CNET.
…
What sparked the privacy worries is the section of CISPA that says “notwithstanding any other provision of law,” companies may share information “with any other entity, including the federal government.” It doesn’t, however, require them to do so.
By including the word “notwithstanding,” House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) and ranking member Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.) intended to make CISPA trump all existing federal and state civil and criminal laws. (It’s so broad that the non-partisan Congressional Research Service once warned (PDF) that using the term in legislation may “have unforeseen consequences for both existing and future laws.”)
“Notwithstanding” would trump wiretap laws, Web companies’ privacy policies, gun laws, educational record laws, census data, medical records, and other statutes that protect information, warns the ACLU’s Richardson: “For cybersecurity purposes, all of those entities can turn over that information to the federal government.”
CNET further informs that there is currently a wave of backlash fomenting, similar to the one that ultimately doomed SOPA:
Advocacy groups, including the American Library Association, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and the libertarian-leaning TechFreedom, launched a “Stop Cyber Spying” campaign today — complete with a write-your-congresscritter-via-Twitter app — and the bill has now drawn the ire of Anonymous. A letter (PDF) sent today by more than two dozen organizations, including the Republican Liberty Caucus, urges a “no” vote on CISPA, and more than 669,000 people have signed an anti-CISPA Web petition.
You know what to do, folks.
We need your help! If you like PunditHouse, please consider donating to us. Even $5 a month can make a difference!
Short URL: https://pundithouse.com/?p=9455
