Sunday, April 05, 2009

Should Obama Control the Internet?

From http://www.infowars.com/should-obama-control-the-internet/

Should Obama Control the Internet?
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Steve Aquino
Mother Jones
April 3, 2009

Should President Obama have the power to shut down domestic Internet traffic during a state of emergency?

Senators John Rockefeller (D-W. Va.) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) think so. On Wednesday they introduced a bill to establish the Office of the National Cybersecurity Advisor—an arm of the executive branch that would have vast power to monitor and control Internet traffic to protect against threats to critical cyber infrastructure. That broad power is rattling some civil libertarians.
The Cybersecurity Act of 2009 (PDF) gives the president the ability to “declare a cybersecurity emergency” and shut down or limit Internet traffic in any “critical” information network “in the interest of national security.” The bill does not define a critical information network or a cybersecurity emergency. That definition would be left to the president.
The bill does not only add to the power of the president. It also grants the Secretary of Commerce “access to all relevant data concerning [critical] networks without regard to any provision of law, regulation, rule, or policy restricting such access.” This means he or she can monitor or access any data on private or public networks without regard to privacy laws.
Rockefeller made cybersecurity one of his key issues as a member of the Senate intelligence committee, which he chaired until last year. He now heads the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, which will take up this bill.

Read entire article

Research related links

For your own good: Cybersecurity law would give feds unprecedented net control
MPAA to Obama: Censor the Internet, Kick People Off the Internet
Fearing ‘Cyber Katrina,’ Obama Candidate for Cyber Czar Urges a ‘FEMA for the Internet’
EU to Govern “Internet of the Future”
Finland passes unlimited internet surveillance law
Is the internet going down? Undersea sub-cables have just broken…
Rockefeller: Internet is “Number One National Hazard”
Three Internet Cables Slashed in a Week: Has Iran lost all Internet Connectivity?
Bill to Move Cybersecurity to Obama’s White House
Democrats Plot “Fairness Doctrine” for Internet Talk Radio
Video Road Hogs Stir Fear of Internet Traffic Jam
FBI wants widespread monitoring of ‘illegal’ Internet activity

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