Internet “Kill Switch” Not OK for Egypt; OK for U.S.? January 31, 2011
Posted by andiquote in Constitution, Defense, Economy, Egypt, Government Regulation, Internet, Liberty, National Security, socialism.Tags: Barack Obama, Communist, Congress, Current Events, Egypt, Freedom, Liberty, National Defense, National Security, socialism
trackback
Governments across the globe recognize that the Internet is increasingly the life-blood of democracy — that’s why Egypt… has scrambled to shut down online communications.
American officials are rightfully decrying the regime’s actions. Here is what President Obama said:
Here’s what Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said this week:
“We support the universal human rights of the Egyptian people including the right of expression of association and assembly we urge the Egyptian authorities to allow peaceful process and reverse the unprecedented steps it has taken to cut off communications.”
[Yet] American politicians have just declared that they’re pushing legislation that would give the President the power to do the exact same thing.
A controversial bill handing President Obama power over privately owned computer systems during a “national cyberemergency,” and prohibiting any review by the court system, will return this year. The so-called Internet ‘Kill Switch’ would allow the president to declare a state of cyber-emergency under which he could order covered critical infrastructure (CCI) to do essentially whatever he wants — without judicial review or congressional approval.
It was introduced by Joe Lieberman, and last year it passed out of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee by a unanimous vote.
The revised version includes new language saying that the federal government’s designation of vital Internet or other computer systems “shall not be subject to judicial review.” Another addition expanded the definition of critical infrastructure to include “provider of information technology,” and a third authorized the submission of “classified” reports on security vulnerabilities.
Source: January 24, 2011 10:12 AM
Renewed Push to Give Obama an Internet “Kill Switch”
Posted by Declan McCullagh
Source:
David Segal RI State Representative, Demand Progress
Posted: January 31, 2011 10:12 AM BIO Become a Fan Get Email Alerts Bloggers’ Index
Fight America’s Internet ‘Kill Switch’
Comments»
No comments yet — be the first.