Thread: Lawmakers Cite Boston Bombing, WikiLeaks "Hacking" as Reasons to Pass CISPA

Lawmakers Cite Boston Bombing, WikiLeaks "Hacking" as Reasons to Pass CISPA

By Ryan Gallagher
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Posted Friday, April 19, 2013, at 4:23 PM


Rep. Candice Miller, R-Mich., is in favor of CISPA
Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images



North Korean hackers and the Boston bombings might not appear to have much in common. But not according to some American lawmakers, who are using both to justify passing a controversial cybersecurity bill that civil liberties advocates claim “undermines the privacy of millions of Internet users.”

Yesterday, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, or CISPA, was approved by the House of Representatives by a vote of 288 to 127. The law was first introduced in 2011 and approved last year by the House, though it died in the Senate after an outpouring of opposition from privacy and civil liberties groups. But it has been resurrected and is heading to the Senate for the second time. Predictably, the storm of criticism has also reappeared. Rights groups have consistently raised concerns over how CISPA would allow corporations to pass unanonymized user data to federal government agencies for vaguely defined “cybersecurity” purposes—and be covered by full legal indemnity when doing so.

The ACLU has described CISPA as an “extreme proposal” that “forges new ground.” The Electronic Frontier Foundation says it “would provide a gaping exception to bedrock privacy law.” And even the White House has criticized the bill, earlier this week threatening to veto it unless it is amended to include better privacy and civil liberties safeguards.

But yesterday, when the House was debating the contentious bill, CISPA advocates didn’t seem to be paying attention to any of those issues. Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Texas, cited the Boston bombings while arguing for CISPA to be adopted. “In the case of Boston, they were real bombs,” McCaul said, adding that we also need to arm ourselves against “digital bombs. These bombs are on their way.” Similarly apocalyptic statements were made by Rep. Candice Miller, R-Mich., who made no mention of Boston, though argued that CISPA was needed to stop hackers in countries like Iran and North Korea from crippling American infrastructure and causing the destruction of American jobs. Rep. Dan Maffei, D-N.Y., even used the debate to take aim at WikiLeaks, bizarrely claiming CISPA was needed to stop the whistleblowing website from pursuing efforts to “hack into our nation’s power grid.”

In the aftermath of tragic events or amid heightened global tensions, it’s hardly unusual for lawmakers to make emotive appeals in pursuit of new national security powers. Public opinion in the aftermath of a distressing terror attack in particular can sway citizens in favor of handing the authorities more intrusive surveillance powers, as occurred in most Western democracies in the aftermath of 9/11 (the Patriot Act being just one example). In the case of CISPA, however, it is tenuous in the extreme to draw sweeping links between cyberattacks and pressure-cooker bombs tearing through a Boston street, or cyberattacks and WikiLeaks, or cyberattacks and whatever else is agitating U.S. lawmakers on a given day. Exploiting every perceived threat to counter a push for greater CISPA privacy protections is brazenly cynical—and, I’d argue, ultimately doomed to fail.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_te..._chunky_bottom

CISPA passed the House, but this isn't over yet. It's time for a massive protest for online privacy.

Tell the U.S. Government: "Violating our privacy is not an option."

CISPA would turn the websites we love into legally immune Government spies. We're organizing the largest online privacy protest in history to stop it in it's tracks. We'll be in touch when it's time to take action!
Fight for the Future and Center for Rights will contact you about future campaigns. Privacy Policy


Sound the alarm! Share this flyer about the CISPA protest now.

BREAKING: CISPA sponsor, Rep. Mike Rogers, admits that CISPA helps rich tech CEOs, then says CISPA opponents are "14 year old tweeters in their basement." And it's on video.

Instantly, thousands of people started tweeting at @RepMikeRogers telling him how old they are. We made a button so you can do it too.
Tweet your age @RepMikeRogers

What's wrong with CISPA? (in as few words as possible)

As it's written, CISPA won't protect us from cyber threats, but it will violate our 4th Amendment right to privacy.

• It lets the government spy on you without a warrant. (read more)
  
• It makes it so you can’t even find out about it after the fact. (read more)
  
• It makes it so companies can’t be sued when they do illegal things with your data. (read more)
  
• It allows corporations to cyber-attack each other and individuals outside of the law. (read more)
  
• It makes every privacy policy on the web a moot point, and violates the 4th amendment. (read more)

UPDATE! IDL launched the 'Cat Signal' on March 20th, over 30K sites participated including Reddit, Craigslist, and Duck Duck Go. Press Release.


A phone call is worth 100 petition signatures...

CISPA is an urgent threat. We've heard that Congress will be attempting to push it to a floor vote as soon as they return from recess. Last year, CISPA rushed through the house before anyone had time to react. We can't let that happen again. The risks are too great.
Can you pick up the phone right now and leave a message for your Congressperson? Let's make sure that when they return from recess, their mail boxes are completely full of voices against CISPA's privacy intrusions.
We made this handy tool that lets you find your Congresspersons' phone numbers with just one click. Hit the button below and try it out!
Click here to Call Congress

Which companies will really go to bat for you?

The companies and organizations below have proven their true commitment to user privacy by vocally opposing CISPA. How legit is that? These companies are actually saying, “We want to be sued if we do something illegal with your data.” That’s how you know they are actually taking your privacy seriously. If Google, Twitter, and Facebook are ready to walk the walk, they’ll join this list!
4chan

Amicus

Automattic

Cheezburger, Inc.

Craigslist

Duck Duck Go

Entertainment Consumers Association

Floor 64

Gliph

Girardin Development

Imgur

Mozilla

Namecheap

New York Tech Meetup

Private Internet Access

Reddit

ServInt

TorServers

Add Your Company

Media Information:

This is a campaign of Fight for the Future and the Center for Rights.
For press inquiries, email: press@fightforthefuture.org
Phone: 508-474-5248
Press Release: "Demand Progress and Fight for the Future Deliver over 300K Signatures Against CISPA."
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Media Coverage:

• Washington Post, "Digital rights activists vow to fight CISPA"
  
• BBC News, "Net 'bat signal' activated for privacy protests
  
• New York Times, "The President revives an old debate about privacy"
  
• Al Jazeera, "CISPA resurrected, privacy concerns continue"
  
• Rolling Stone, "Congress is trying to kill internet privacy again"
  
• Mashable, "Internet Activists Deliver 300,000 Anti-CISPA Signatures to Congress"
  
• Huffington Post, "Web Giants Fight CISPA, Push Back Against Resurrection of Cybersecurity Bill
  
• The Hill, "Privacy groups prepare to hit back on cybersecurity bill"
  
• ComputerWorld, "Privacy groups protest CISPA bill"
  
• DailyDot, "Activists will troll CISPA's sponsors with 1 million tweets"
  
• Mashable, "Reddit, Craigslist, and 30,000 other sites protest CISPA"

A project of Fight for the Future. No copyright intended.