Bill would give president emergency control of Internet
Internet companies and civil liberties groups were alarmed this spring when a U.S. Senate bill proposed handing the White House the power to disconnect private-sector computers from the Internet.
They’re not much happier about a revised version that aides to Sen. Jay Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat, have spent months drafting behind closed doors. CNET News has obtained a copy of the 55-page draft of S.773 (excerpt), which still appears to permit the president to seize temporary control of private-sector networks during a so-called cybersecurity emergency.
The new version would allow the president to “declare a cybersecurity emergency” relating to “non-governmental” computer networks and do what’s necessary to respond to the threat. Other sections of the proposal include a federal certification program for “cybersecurity professionals,” and a requirement that certain computer systems and networks in the private sector be managed by people who have been awarded that license.
(One thing to keep in mind with all bills of this type, where the government is expanding its powers far beyond what it has authority to do, is this frequently-employed strategy: They will write the bill to encompass far more than is the actual goal, with the expectation that public outcry will cause them to take a few steps back. For instance, a bill might originate as “All tents will now house camels.” Everyone complains, “No, we don’t want camels in our tents!” And then they’ll say, “Ok, ok, no camels in your tents, you must only allow the camel’s nose in your tent when there’s a sandstorm.” And everyone says, “Well, that’s OK I guess, and there’s no sandstorm now, so it doesn’t affect me or my tent at all.” And the bill passes, and then next year, or next congressional session, they can mandate that more of the camel be allowed into your tent until the entire thing is in there. They use this with gun control, healthcare, workplace safety, environmental regulations, and everything else they do. Once the foot is in the door, they will eventually push their entire pompous bloated selves into your household, and run it according to their will.)
And of course, this would be piled on top of the movement to give the president sweeping new authority to define and declare emergencies. And now, the feds want documentation on the structure of networks around the nation, to have certified agents in charge of them, and authority to seize control of and to be able to shut down Internet access for anyone the feds don’t want online at any point in time.
The McCain-Feingold act of several years ago basically declared that no one without press credentials could speak ill of candidates within 90 days of an election – will the feds use this new authority to shut down individuals speaking out against public servants or policies?
If the H1N1 flu fails to cause a pandemic, but the mandatory immunizations do, will they shut down the internet to prevent news of the harmful side effects of the governments actions from spreading and causing revolts and riots, so that they may continue mandatory immunizations with only the mainstream media reporting the government’s side of the story?
Even if Obama doesn’t turn out to be a vicious, murdurous tyrant, who’s to say the next guy won’t be? With all Constitutional restraints on the presidency abolished, there’s nowhere to go but down.
