Congress just won’t let up with the Internet legislation.
The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) is back after being defeated in the summer of 2012.
Like the “deadites” of Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead Trilogy, there seems to be no stopping CISPA as it is reincarnated for another fight.
As the trilogy’s hero Ash Williams would say, “come get some.”
CISPA is a cybersecurity bill that would allow government agencies like the National Security Agency and the Department of Defense to collect digital records on you without a warrant, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
The bill passed in the House last year, but was stalled in the Senate thanks to a veto threat by President Barack Obama.
That’s right. Even the Obama administration – the same one that extended the Patriot Act and FISA Amendments Act – thought this bill was too much.
The purported goal of CISPA is to use this information to protect the country from cybersecurity attacks, and its supporters could probably make a good case for the need for protection.
There have been various reports about Chinese hackers in the press over the last month. The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal both reported their systems had been infiltrated by Chinese hackers near the beginning of the month, and, on Feb. 19, the cybersecurity company Mandiant released a report detailing Chinese hacking and the location of their operations.
However, CISPA’s method for handling cybersecurity is dangerous for our privacy and does not need to be implemented for our security.
The problem with CISPA is that it gives the government and private companies control over our personal data while simultaneously relieving these companies of any liability. If the companies use your data carelessly, they would be free from any repercussions.
The bill also places no limits on how the information can be used or what kind of information can be shared.
It is possible that, under CISPA, the contents of an email or private message can be shared with the government. That email, in turn, can be used against you if it implied you’re doing anything remotely illegal regardless if it has little to do with cybersecurity,
And all this would be possible without a warrant.
For those security-loving conservatives out there, imagine writing an email about buying an assault weapon after the passage of an assault weapons ban. All of a sudden, your opposition to a law you find unjust becomes something to hide.
Privacy is important for exactly these kinds of reasons.
It is unknown what the political realities of the future may be, so keeping private information out of the government’s hands is essential to ensure it can never be used abusively.
Fortunately, there are plenty of ways CISPA can be amended to better protect Americans’ civil liberties.
Restrictions can be placed on what type of information can be shared, organizations authorized to deal with this information can be limited to civilian agencies and the government can be limited to only using the information to deal with cybersecurity and terrorist threats.
However, some of our politicians don’t see a problem with CISPA.
Four of the seven Louisiana congressmen voted for CISPA last year despite its privacy concerns, and it’s likely they’ll vote for it again unless more people make the effort to show their opposition.
I’ve often written about the need to stay alert for bills dealing with digital content. These bills have often been significantly more harmful than needed, yet Congress continues to dish them out, waiting for at least one to finally stick.
Congress is fighting a war of attrition against our will, but as long as we don’t lose steam, we can continue to fight against harmful legislation and ensure our rights are protected.
