Looks like the CISPA bill has passed the House of Representatives, now it is under debate in the Senate.
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The bill allows internet companies to share information about it's users with government agencies. One of the public reasons for such a bill is to
strengthen cybersecurity, which is valid, though it does NOT define any criteria that would enable the company to decide what information bears on
cybersecurity and what information does not.
Though cybersecurity is a reason for such a bill, does it really necessitate a bill the effectively leads to warrant less internet "wiretapping"?
Something like this has happened before:
According to
CNET
President Richard Nixon, plagued by anti-Vietnam protests and worried about foreign influence, ordered that Project Shamrock's electronic ear be
turned inward to eavesdrop on American citizens. In 1969, Nixon met with the heads of the NSA, CIA and FBI and authorized an intercept program. Nixon
later withdrew the formal authorization, but informally, police and intelligence agencies kept adding names to the watch list. At its peak, 600
American citizens appeared on the list, including singer Joan Baez, pediatrician Benjamin Spock, actress Jane Fonda and the Rev. Martin Luther King
Jr.
Are they inspired by Richard Nixon?
Furthermore the NSA has had close relationships with communications companies:
This apparently has continued. In his 2006 book titled "State of War," New York Times reporter James Risen wrote: "The NSA has extremely close
relationships with both the telecommunications and computer industries, according to several government officials. Only a very few top executives in
each corporation are aware of such relationships." In a recent Wired article, author James Bamford described how the NSA is currently building the
nation's biggest spy center, a $2 billion facility in the Utah desert. Bamford quoted William Binney, a former NSA official, as saying the NSA's
backdoor into the U.S. telecommunications network goes far beyond AT&T's facility on Second Street in San Francisco. "I think there's 10 to 20 of
them," Binney said. "That's not just San Francisco; they have them in the middle of the country and also on the East Coast."
Even though the NSA probably already monitors nearly all internet communication, not every government agency has access to whatever information they
obtain. Most likely this bill would allow all the other government agencies to obtain access to information without having to ask the NSA, they simply
ask the companies. The problem is that it is up to the companies to release as much or as little as they want, it is unclear what the criteria is and
this is a problem.
Anyway here is a partial list industry groups that support the bill:
American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers - Interesting
American Petroleum Institute Supports CISPA - Interesting
11 Financial Trade Associations Support CISPA
AT&T - Yes, I would expect something like this from them.
Boeing
BSA
Business Roundtable
CSC
COMPTEL
CTIA - The Wireless Association
Cyber, Space & Intelligence Association
Edison Electric
EMC
Exelon
Facebook - This is somewhat of a surprise
The Financial Services Roundtable
IBM - I can see them doing something like this.
Independent Telephone & Telecommunications Alliance
Information Technology Industry Council
Intel - This is a surprise
Internet Security Alliance
Lockheed Martin
Microsoft - I can see this coming from them.
National Cable & Telecommunications Association
NDIA
Oracle
Symantec
TechAmerica
US Chamber of Commerce
US Telecom - The Broadband Association
Verizon - Time to change your carrier
Here is a link to the full list:
CISPA Letters of Support
Many of the industry groups are directly related to online communications, though the two OIL groups are quite a surprise. Does cybersecurity affect
the interests of the OIL industry sufficiently to warrant support of an unpopular bill? It's not enough that much of our geopolitical strategy is
based around the needs of the OIL industry we have to modify our online privacy as well?
We have seen, in one decade, compromise after compromise on the part of the American people in the areas of access to accurate information about world
events, privacy, freedom of expression, unreasonable search and seizure, etc. It seems as if all the compromises have been on our part and very few if
any on the part of the government, multi-national corporations, and the military industrial complex.
This may be a government BY the people, but not necessarily a government FOR the people.
edit on 29-4-2012 by deloprator20000 because: (no
reason given)
