TRUST US WITH YOUR INTERNET

TRUST US WITH YOUR INTERNET!

June 18, 10:12 AM

Patrick Britton

It's stuff that screams conspiracy theory babble, only it's very real. There's a bill--the Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act (PCNAA)--in the works that would literally give President Obama and every President from this point on the authority to shut off the Internet. Furthermore, it creates a whole new government organization to ensure that anyone who relies on "the Internet, the telephone system, or any other component of the U.S. 'information infrastructure'" be subject to the command of the government. Some would be required to engage in "information sharing" with the agency" as well.Basically, anything that happens on Google, will be read by the government.

NCCC, or the National Center for Cybersecurity and Communications, would be created by the PCNAAintroduced by Senator Joseph Lieberman. Anyone remember the other government power created by congress to "protect" us? That's right, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The NCCC would be an agency underneath the DHS.

This would literally be a branch--some sort of twisted, you're privacy doesn't matter branch--from the Bush administration to the Obama administration. Liberals and conservatives a-like need to take this as a different branch. A branch of reality that this government will continue on the same path of less freedom for more false-security no matter which party is in control.

As of 6/17/10 PCNAA is co-sponsored by Sen. Thomas Carper [D, DE] and Sen. Susan Collins [R, ME].

Lieberman's opinion on the Internet is the a-typical government attitude towards personal freedoms.

Lieberman said Thursday that enactment of his bill needed to be a top congressional priority. "For all of its 'user-friendly' allure, the Internet can also be a dangerous place with electronic pipelines that run directly into everything from our personal bank accounts to key infrastructure to government and industrial secrets," he said. "Our economic security, national security and public safety are now all at risk from new kinds of enemies--cyber-warriors, cyber-spies, cyber-terrorists and cyber-criminals." CBS

Lieberman was a big fan of Bush era terror-tactics so I am not surprised to see him pushing forward with his anti human rights and privacy habits.

This attitude irks me. It's the same type of excuse you hear for wiretaps and being able to hold American citizens without a warrant if they are considered a terrorist. This means everyone is already guilty. Are you a possible cyber-terrorist? I would love to know his definition. Chances are Liberty Den is one to him. And why do we need a kill-all solution to fight cyber-terrorists? Really? What does the government having the authority to demand personal information from any company that relies on the Internet have to do with what Lieberman babbled about? As if the police and government don't have enough power over the everyday citizen.

This is an issue we all need to get together on. Do not support this because you support Lieberman, or somehow trust the government in this regard, it is definitely not a power the government needs. They can fight terror with all the tools they already have. How much more privacy do we need to lose; how much more control does the government need; how many more watching eyes do we need before they have the adequate weapons to fight their enemies? Perhaps that is a trick question. Maybe we are the enemies?

INTERNET KILL SWITCH APPROVED BY SENATE HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE

Huffington Post Bianca Bosker

The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs has approved a , Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act (PCNAA), that would give the president far-reaching authority over the Internet in the case of emergency. cybersecurity bill

As The Hill explains, the bill, sponsored by Sens. Joe Lieberman, Susan Collins, and Tom Carper, would give the president "emergency authority to shut down private sector or government networks in the event of a cyber attack capable of causing massive damage or loss of life." The original bill granted the president the authority to "indefinitely" shut down networks, but an amendment to the PCNAA, approved yesterday, mandates that the president "get Congressional approval after controlling a network for 120 days."

The authority granted to the government in the bill has been likened to an Internet "kill switch."

Collins noted that she takes issue with the "kill switch" term. The Hill writes,

"It's been frustrating to read some of the misrepresentations of our bill in the cybersphere," Collins said, arguing the new bill actually circumscribes the president's existing authority and puts controls on its use. "I believe the substitute amendment we're offering strengthens those protections even more."

As we wrote here, the bill would also see the creation of a new agency within the Department of Homeland Security, the National Center for Cybersecurity and Communications (NCCC). Any private company reliant on "the Internet, the telephone system, or any other component of the U.S. 'information infrastructure'" would be "subject to command" by the NCCC, and some would be required to engage in "information sharing" with the agency, says CBS4.

The bill will soon head to the Senate for a vote.

Bear Witness

We The People must awaken and save our Constitution and Bill of Rights before it is too late.