CISPA Amendment Would Tighten Loopholes… By Opening More
One CISPA amendment surfaced that proposes to tighten the loopholes regarding the use of any data collected…
The government would only be able to use the information to protect against cyberattacks, investigate cyber crimes, protect national security, protect against theft or bodily harm or to protect minors from child pornography.
Is that all???
Not only does it retain the national security loophole that would allow DHS, the NSA, and anyone else in government to run roughshod over your privacy, it reopens the door to “protecting” IP theft.
That must make the RIAA and MPAA absolutely giddy with delight.
Oh, and of course, we must think of the children, and toss in time-honored protections against child porn for good measure. Who can be against that?
Another amendment starts as follows…
Adopt privacy language requiring the development of policies and procedures to minimize the impact of information sharing on privacy and civil liberties…
Great. In other words, pass the bill now, and we promise to “develop” some policies and procedures that will protect individual privacy and civil liberties. Later.
We’ll do it. Trust us.
Another proposed amendment is in fact beneficial, in that it actually appears to limit the type of information that can be shared.
…information directly pertaining to a vulnerability, a threat, an effort to degrade, disrupt or destroy a system or network, or an effort to gain unauthorized access to a system or network.
At least this definition pertains directly to cybersecurity issues, and would help quell the fear that the NSA — excuse me, the company in question — is simply going to record every single byte passing through your gateway.
Still, even the good amendments are little more than ill-conceived and ill-considered patches that we’re trying to slap on at the last minute.
Stop. Just take a deep breath and stop.
Stop trying to patch a bad bill and start over, this time with a bill that addresses cybersecurity issues only, and begins with privacy protection at its core.
Then we can read it, consider it, and then vote on it.
Don’t just read about this. Take a moment and use the EFF’s automated system to call or email your representative now. Stop CISPA.
Next in the series: Obama Threatens To Veto CISPA; Authors Brush Off Threat
Related Stories
[Via The Hill]
