Should the Government have the power to shut down the Internet?

[bladex76]

ok i dont know if this is true but the congress wants to pass a bill It's a PROPOSED bill to let the president or government be able to shut off or parts of the internet now i know they have the power now im sure but they want to make it as a bill does this mean that im gonna have to go to tijuana to download my tgirl porn...????

[saifan]

You have a link to the story?

[rameses2]

They say the want to be able to shut down certain parts of the Interwebs in cases of "National Security". Joe Lieberman used CHINA as an example! Really, Lieberman? THAT'S the best example you could find to back up your reason to support this Bill?

[raiku9909]

http://www.networkworld.com/news/200...rity-bill.html

There it is.

I'm torn on the issue--it's a scary amount of power to give to the government, but at the same time, if some catastrophic attack ever happened on the internet it would have some pretty serious ramifications on the financial markets, right?

[95racer]

NO fucking way!!!!!!

[sunairco]

Before some of you get the wrong idea, there has long been precendent for this type of control from the earliest days of radio and wireline communications. The last time it was implemented by executive order was during WW11, shutting down all communications unless authorized by the gov't. Furthermore, John Kennedy was responsible for the National Communications System in '62 which would sieze control of both the radio spectrum and wireline communications during a war,national emergency, or reconstructive continuance of gov't event. It wasn't implemented until the '80's by Ronald Reagan. By default, internet communications are delivered either by wireline/cable or by WiFi which already are under the original jurisdictions anyway. By existing laws, there technically doesn't need to be a new law created.

[jordyd19]

that's why i have my generator and short wave. JK but it woulden't be a bad idea. The last die hard was based on a whole system shutdown by an individual. And I'm guessing another country is as capable of doing this to the us as ours.

[sunairco]

Shortwave isn't going to do you a lot of good these days with most English language broadcasts like the BBC and CBC moving to sattelite services or streamed on the net. Unless you speak another language such as Spanish, you're highly unlikely to get uncensored news in a reconstructive or national emergency situation. Let's face it, they're going to have complete control over disseminaton of information and trying to live off the grid is going to be nearly impossible in years to come.

[NYBURBS]

Bad idea imo. First of all, executive orders and implied powers never have the same standing in court that a congressional law does. So if it were to be passed, the courts would review any shutdown with a much greater degree of deference to the government's position.

Further, one could see how this might be abused to delay the disbursement of incriminating or secret material that the government wouldn't want released. I realize that sounds a bit conspiracy theorist, but it's not beyond the realm of possibility.

I can understand the need to protect certain key systems, but they should be specifically defined and the power carefully limited.

[NYBURBS]

S.773

Cybersecurity Act of 2009 (Introduced in Senate - IS)
SEC. 18. CYBERSECURITY RESPONSIBILITIES AND AUTHORITY.

• The President--

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  • (1) within 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, shall develop and implement a comprehensive national cybersecurity strategy, which shall include--
  
  

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    • (A) a long-term vision of the Nation's cybersecurity future; and
    
    
  
  

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    • (B) a plan that encompasses all aspects of national security, including the participation of the private sector, including critical infrastructure operators and managers;
    
    
  
  

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  • (2) may declare a cybersecurity emergency and order the limitation or shutdown of Internet traffic to and from any compromised Federal Government or United States critical infrastructure information system or network;
  
  

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  • (3) shall designate an agency to be responsible for coordinating the response and restoration of any Federal Government or United States critical infrastructure information system or network affected by a cybersecurity emergency declaration under paragraph (2);
  
  

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  • (4) shall, through the appropriate department or agency, review equipment that would be needed after a cybersecurity attack and develop a strategy for the acquisition, storage, and periodic replacement of such equipment;
  
  

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  • (5) shall direct the periodic mapping of Federal Government and United States critical infrastructure information systems or networks, and shall develop metrics to measure the effectiveness of the mapping process;
  
  

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  • (6) may order the disconnection of any Federal Government or United States critical infrastructure information systems or networks in the interest of national security;
  
  

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  • (7) shall, through the Office of Science and Technology Policy, direct an annual review of all Federal cyber technology research and development investments;
  
  

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  • (8) may delegate original classification authority to the appropriate Federal official for the purposes of improving the Nation's cybersecurity posture;
  
  

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  • (9) shall, through the appropriate department or agency, promulgate rules for Federal professional responsibilities regarding cybersecurity, and shall provide to the Congress an annual report on Federal agency compliance with those rules;
  
  

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  • (10) shall withhold additional compensation, direct corrective action for Federal personnel, or terminate a Federal contract in violation of Federal rules, and shall report any such action to the Congress in an unclassified format within 48 hours after taking any such action; and
  
  

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  • (11) shall notify the Congress within 48 hours after providing a cyber-related certification of legality to a United States person.
  
  

SEC. 23. DEFINITIONS.

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  • (3) FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND UNITED STATES CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND NETWORKS- The term `Federal Government and United States critical infrastructure information systems and networks' includes--
  
  

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    • (A) Federal Government information systems and networks; and
    
    
  
  

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    • (B) State, local, and nongovernmental information systems and networks in the United States designated by the President as critical infrastructure information systems and networks.