[LINK] 'kill switch' bill passes US Senate Committee

[Jan Whitaker]

Obama internet 'kill switch' bill approved

[the main story has a photo of Joe Lieberman, 'architect of the 
bill', a very dangerous and confused man, who is an 'independent', 
former Democrat turncoat; but the headline may be a bit overstated]

Asher Moses
June 25, 2010 - 2:57PM

The US senators pushing a controversial new bill that some fear would 
give President Barack Obama the powers to seize control of and even 
shut down the internet have rejected claims it would give Obama a net 
"kill switch".

The bill, titled "Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act", has 
been unanimously approved by the US Homeland Security committee and 
will be put to a vote on the Senate floor shortly.

Lobby groups and academics 
<http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/obama-internet-kill-switch-proposed-20100618-yln6.html>quickly 
rounded on the bill, which seeks to grant the President broad 
emergency powers over the internet in times of national emergency.

Any internet firms and providers must "immediately comply with any 
emergency measure or action developed" by a new section of the US 
Department of Homeland Security, dubbed the "National Centre for 
Cybersecurity and Communications".

The critics said that, rather than combat terrorists, it would 
actually do them "the biggest favour ever" by terrorising the rest of 
the world, which is now heavily reliant on cyberspace.

Australian academics criticised the description in the bill's title 
of the internet as a US "national asset", saying any action would 
disrupt other countries as most of the critical internet 
infrastructure is located in the US.

This week, 24 privacy and civil liberties groups sent a letter 
raising concerns about the legislation to the sponsors, including 
that it could limit free speech and free inquiry, Computerworld 
<http://news.idg.no/cw/art.cfm?id=6BF99DBF-1A64-67EA-E45F8E3037FC8D63>reported.

"We are concerned that the emergency actions that could be compelled 
could include shutting down or limiting internet communications," 
<http://www.cdt.org/files/pdfs/20100624_joint_cybersec_letter.pdf>the 
letter reads.

But the architects of the plan, committee chairman Senator Joe 
Lieberman and Senator Susan Collins, have this week released a "Myth 
v. Reality" 
<http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Files.View&FileStore_id=ab5cfa0e-d174-494b-bba3-7488f03f1cb1>document 
that hits back at these criticisms.

They say the threat of a catastrophic cyber attack is real and not a 
matter of "if" but "when". Cyber crime was also costing the US 
economy billions of dollars annually and the bill would "modernise 
the government's ability to safeguard the nation's cyber networks 
from attack and will establish a public/private partnership to set 
national cyber security priorities".

The senators rejected the "kill switch" claim, arguing that the 
President already had authority under the Communications Act to 
"cause the closing of any facility or station for wire communication" 
when there is a "state or threat of war".

They said under the new bill the President would be far less likely 
to use the broad authority he already has under current law to take 
over communications. It would provide "a precise, targeted and 
focused way for the President to defend our most sensitive infrastructure".

Any action would be limited to 30-day increments and the President 
must use the "least disruptive means feasible" to respond to the 
threats. Action extended beyond 120 days would need Congressional approval.

The bill would not give the President the authority to take over the 
entire internet, target specific websites or conduct electronic surveillance.

"Only specific systems or assets whose disruption would cause a 
national or regional catastrophe would be subject to the bill's 
mandatory security requirements," the senators wrote.

This story was found at: 
http://www.theage.com.au/technology/security/obama-internet-kill-switch-bill-approved-20100625-z8sf.html 




Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
jwhit at janwhitaker.com
blog: http://janwhitaker.com/jansblog/
business: http://www.janwhitaker.com

Our truest response to the irrationality of the world is to paint or 
sing or write, for only in such response do we find truth.
~Madeline L'Engle, writer

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