Staff Writer, R. Patrick Chapman
Government / Surveillance __________________________________
That is right, the men and women of the United States Congress hate that you are free. Besides the fact that all the surveillance you and the rest of the world are under has not stopped a terrorist attack, Congress wants to make sure that they can spy on you more anyway.
Even though CISPA 2015 was introduced last Thursday, for some reason, the text of the bill has not appeared on Congress.gov. Earlier today, I called Representative Ruppersberger’s office to get a copy of the bill.
Under CISPA 2015 (HR 234), the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Attorney General, the Director of National Intelligence, and the Secretary of Defense would create the cyber threat information sharing program and also provide oversight for the program’s civil liberties protections. This is akin to allowing the foxes to guard the hen house. CISPA 2015 also mandates privacy and civil liberties reports, but allows government agencies to classify the annexes to the reports. In other words, CISPA 2015 does not intend to have any real oversight for civil liberties and privacy. Cyber threat information shared with the government would also be exempt from the Freedom of Information Act and would be a serious blow to transparency in government. Perhaps the worst thing about the CISPA 2015 bill is that it would give immunity from criminal prosecution and lawsuits to anyone sharing cyber threat information with the government. CISPA 2015 would provide for an even cozier relationship between Silicon Valley and the US government at the detriment of civil liberties and privacy for everyone else.
CISPA 2015 has now been referred to the House Committees on the Judiciary, Armed Services, Homeland Security, and Intelligence.
Why do the American people have to give up their rights to serve the paranoia of government officials?
Who are the terrorists anyway? Ordinary citizens? The "rebels" the U.S. government funds and supplies with weapons? Or Congress itself?
Source: Pirate Times
