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August 29, 2009
Here's a great idea: Let's give Obama control of the internet
But don't worry. Obama would only take over the internet in an "emergency."
Then why does it make me uneasy that this Chicago Way pol gets to define what an "emergency" might be?
Declan McCullagh writing for CNET:
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.
Are you ready for this?
The government gets hit with cyber attacks all the time - even the Pentagon and CIA. If this bill passes, I fully expect Obama to take advantage of the next "cyber emergency" and seize control "temporarily" (like Hitler's "emergency powers?") of the internet.
Remember: "Never let a good crisis go to waste."