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Bill would give president emergency control of Internet | Politics and Law - CNET New

Realist1

Realist1

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The Dems better "have a talk" soon with the President....:roll:

Bill would give president emergency control of Internet | Politics and Law - CNET News


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.
 
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Re: B.O. wants "Control' of the Internet.

So a bill that lets the president take emergency measures when an emergency happens is sinister how?
 
Bill would give president emergency control of Internet

Link

August 28, 2009 12:34 AM PDT
by Declan McCullagh

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.
"I think the redraft, while improved, remains troubling due to its vagueness," said Larry Clinton, president of the Internet Security Alliance, which counts representatives of Verizon, Verisign, Nortel, and Carnegie Mellon University on its board. "It is unclear what authority Sen. Rockefeller thinks is necessary over the private sector. Unless this is clarified, we cannot properly analyze, let alone support the bill."
Representatives of other large Internet and telecommunications companies expressed concerns about the bill in a teleconference with Rockefeller's aides this week, but were not immediately available for interviews on Thursday.........

The privacy implications of sweeping changes implemented before the legal review is finished worry Lee Tien, a senior staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation in San Francisco. "As soon as you're saying that the federal government is going to be exercising this kind of power over private networks, it's going to be a really big issue," he says.
Click to expand...
I find it troubling that the government is considering going beyond protecting it's own security. Having another "czar" in the WH is also an issue.
 
Re: B.O. wants "Control' of the Internet.

Why do Dems need to have a talk with him over a proposed bill that is still being drafted? When and if this proposed legislation makes it through congress and anywhere near his desk is when you can start getting uptight over whether he may or may not sign it into law.

Until then, if you have issues with it, take it up with your representatives, and if you really want to be in an uproar and throw stones at who may be responsible, try throwing them at Sens Rockefeller (D) and Snow (R) they are the ones who introduced the bill.
 
Re: B.O. wants "Control' of the Internet.

Redress said:
So a bill that lets the president take emergency measures when an emergency happens is sinister how?
Click to expand...

What does a 'emergency' constitute?
Is that clear in the bill?
 
Re: B.O. wants "Control' of the Internet.

Redress said:
So a bill that lets the president take emergency measures when an emergency happens is sinister how?
Click to expand...

B.O. is,,, "the Emergency" in this case.:lol: I suppose you'd go along with anyone "Limiting" your access to the Internet, as long as it suits your "feelings"...:lol:

Liberals.:roll:
 
Re: B.O. wants "Control' of the Internet.

Laila said:
What does a 'emergency' constitute?
Is that clear in the bill?
Click to expand...

Won't know till the bill is in final form. It has changed significantly so far, and quite probably will in the future. The bill itself, far from having some sinister purpose, is simply trying to modernize the law. The internets is pretty key to the country, and a large scale attack on the internets could be pretty harmful. Allowing the country to take strong actions to stop this is a pretty important thing to my mind, even though it is entirely possible that it will be republicans who end up using the law.
 
Re: B.O. wants "Control' of the Internet.

Realist1 said:
B.O. is,,, "the Emergency" in this case.:lol: I suppose you'd go along with anyone "Limiting" your access to the Internet, as long as it suits your "feelings"...:lol:

Liberals.:roll:
Click to expand...

The only way this bill would allow any one to limit my internet access is in an emergency. You are being overly dramatic about all this.
 
Re: B.O. wants "Control' of the Internet.

Redress said:
Won't know till the bill is in final form.
Click to expand...

Then we know very little about the format.

As long as what a 'emergency' actually consitutes is written down clearly with boundaries and restrictions then i see little problem.
 
Re: B.O. wants "Control' of the Internet.

Redress said:
Won't know till the bill is in final form. It has changed significantly so far, and quite probably will in the future. The bill itself, far from having some sinister purpose, is simply trying to modernize the law. The internets is pretty key to the country, and a large scale attack on the internets could be pretty harmful. Allowing the country to take strong actions to stop this is a pretty important thing to my mind, even though it is entirely possible that it will be republicans who end up using the law.
Click to expand...

You admit: Won't know till the bill is in final form. but,,,you attack the Republicans.:lol:

A Liberal true to form,,,and without a speck of Common Sense. So willing to "give away your Rights". :roll:
 
Re: B.O. wants "Control' of the Internet.

Redress said:
The only way this bill would allow any one to limit my internet access is in an emergency. You are being overly dramatic about all this.
Click to expand...

An Emergency,,,declared by B.O.?:lol: Our "Rights" being controlled by him?:roll: And you give your Blessing?:lol:

Bloody Hell.
 
Re: B.O. wants "Control' of the Internet.

Redress said:
The only way this bill would allow any one to limit my internet access is in an emergency. You are being overly dramatic about all this.
Click to expand...

It doesn't even seem to say that. It says it could limit some private-sector run server farms and other data centers. These are the same places that may be required to be used for someone to conduct a successful cyber attack on our government infrastructure.

Who really thinks that the government wouldn't shut these data centers down during a cyber attack if they were being utilized by the attackers? This would happen with or without a bill.
 
Re: B.O. wants "Control' of the Internet.

Realist1 said:
You admit: Won't know till the bill is in final form. but,,,you attack the Republicans.:lol:

A Liberal true to form,,,and without a speck of Common Sense. So willing to "give away your Rights". :roll:
Click to expand...

"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."

So what's being stipulated is a provision much like the "Marshall Law" safety net we have except for the internet. Furthermore, the last section is only mandating and defining when the gov't enforces the contracts we already have with the private sector including gov't use of Walmart's network in case of emergency and use of many private higher education networks. These backup networks have long been negotiated.
 
Re: Bill would give president emergency control of Internet

this is just crazy that they are even considering some thing like this it is unexseptible not to mention unconstitutional can you say Big Brother
 
Re: B.O. wants "Control' of the Internet.

Realist1 said:
B.O. is,,, "the Emergency" in this case.:lol: I suppose you'd go along with anyone "Limiting" your access to the Internet, as long as it suits your "feelings"...:lol:

Liberals.:roll:
Click to expand...

Sounds like you should be writing out a contribution to the ACLU so they can challenge this in court.
 
Re: B.O. wants "Control' of the Internet.

Oh yeah, they have emergency control over television when needed also. Thats why televisions are digital now. So the govt could use the analog signals. Thats why you see weekly emergency tests on your television as well.
 
Re: B.O. wants "Control' of the Internet.

JakeFromWI said:
"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."

So what's being stipulated is a provision much like the "Marshall Law" safety net we have except for the internet. Furthermore, the last section is only mandating and defining when the gov't enforces the contracts we already have with the private sector including gov't use of Walmart's network in case of emergency and use of many private higher education networks. These backup networks have long been negotiated.
Click to expand...

Great...:roll: The Govt. (B.O.) declares an Emergency, and all communications forth with come from Him.:lol: I "feel" much better now.:lol:

I'll bet you do to Jake.:doh
 
Re: B.O. wants "Control' of the Internet.

can any body say big brother this whole government control thing is going way to far big gov is bad end of story
 
Re: B.O. wants "Control' of the Internet.

Realist1 said:
Great...:roll: The Govt. (B.O.) declares an Emergency, and all communications forth with come from Him.:lol: I "feel" much better now.:lol:

I'll bet you do to Jake.:doh
Click to expand...

Just like the the govt has control of the Highways, the TVs and Radios in case of emergency...

I've never heard complaints about that
 
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Re: B.O. wants "Control' of the Internet.

Sorry, I posted an identical thread under Separation of Powers forum.
 
Re: Bill would give president emergency control of Internet

I know it's Hollywood at it's best, but I'm reminded of the movie "Live Free or Die Harders". Is it possible that events as those depicted in that movie could happen? I say "YES". It's already a known fact that there are vunerablilities in some of our utilities grids. Water, eletricity, banking...most of these entities are controlled largely by computers or are intriquetly linked to the Internet. When you really stop and think about it, I can understand why in a 21st Century world our government would be considering giving emergency powers to the President (or someone within the White House) the ability to take charge of cyber activites in a major crisis.

We're in a post-9/11 world and cyber attacks have been occuring at various levels of private and government sectors for a while. They just aren't readily reported, but it happens. How successful this nation has been at stopping such attacks is up for debate, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't give strong consideration for planning against such cyber attacks including giving emergency powers to the President.

Again, we view such powers as treading on our privacy, and I can completely understand the nervousness in that regard as it applies to day-to-day life or the government's ability to swoop in and do whatever it wants. But we have to look at this issue from 21st Century threats and recognize it's not about the day-to-day access, but "in the event of a national emergency where the security of our public/private utility/cyber-grids are threatened." I wouldn't necessarily give up sweeping powers, but I'd be okay with a government/private sector partnership in this regard.
 
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Re: B.O. wants "Control' of the Internet.

Realist1 said:
The Dems better "have a talk" soon with the President....:roll:

Bill would give president emergency control of Internet | Politics and Law - CNET News


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.
Click to expand...

As far as I can tell, the President has nothing to do with this as of yet. Shouldn't we be talking to the people drafting the bill? I'm just curious how everything is Obama's fault. He is not in control of Congress. That is why we have checks and balances. If the bill even made it through congress and then onto the president's desk, then we could send him e-mails. Until then, he can't do much really if they want to proceed.
 
Re: B.O. wants "Control' of the Internet.

formerroadie said:
As far as I can tell, the President has nothing to do with this as of yet. Shouldn't we be talking to the people drafting the bill? I'm just curious how everything is Obama's fault. He is not in control of Congress. That is why we have checks and balances. If the bill even made it through congress and then onto the president's desk, then we could send him e-mails. Until then, he can't do much really if they want to proceed.
Click to expand...
Curious how everything was Bush's fault, eh? Get the picture now?
 
Re: B.O. wants "Control' of the Internet.

SouthernDemocrat said:
Sounds like you should be writing out a contribution to the ACLU so they can challenge this in court.
Click to expand...

I agree. This is right up ACLU's alley and I have a feeling the Supreme Court would take issue with the document if it went too far. But I'm curious how we are supposed to guard against a cyber attack. It's a real threat and I don't blame Congress for at least attempting to come up with solutions. I'm just not sure what those are.
 
Re: B.O. wants "Control' of the Internet.

American said:
Curious how everything was Bush's fault, eh? Get the picture now?
Click to expand...

We haven't blamed him for anything he hasn't had his hand in...
I didn't blame Bush because Cheney shot his buddy.
 
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