The US House of Representatives approved the CISPA (Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act) on April 26 and now the act is headed over to the Senate. According to CNET the House debated the act for nearly 7 hours before it cleared a 248 to 168 vote. That’s a margin I’m a little too uncomfortable with, which is why this article is all about explaining CISPA and how it would affect you.
What is CISPA?
CISPA, if ratified, would be an amendment to the National Security Act of 1947. Currently the 1947 act does not have any specifications pertaining to cybercrimes. So, the SOPA, PIPA and (now) the CISPA have all been pitched as legislation that would “update” United States’ national security to account for new technologies that are dependent on the Internet.
Each proposed act has been outlined differently though. The SOPA focused on copyrighted intellectual property and counterfeit goods. The PIPA set its sights on “economic creativity and theft of intellectual property.” The country’s current worry, is the CISPA which aims to guard against cyber attacks by improving cybersecurity information sharing.
There are many big supporters for this legislation to pass: Business Software Alliance, CTIA – The Wireless Association, Information Technology Industry Council, Internet Security Alliance, National Cable & Telecommunications Association, National Defense Industrial Association, TechAmerica and United States Chamber of Commerce. Most of America will be more familiar with these supporters though: AT&T, Facebook, IBM, Intel, Oracle Corporation, Symantec, and Verizon. Since the bill’s conception Microsoft had also been in favor of it passing, but the company decided to pull its support after the House’s vote. Microsoft said that any law must allow “us to honor the privacy and security promises we make to our customers.”
What would happen if CISPA passed the Senate?
Some Americans have voiced that passing the CIPSA would mean granting NSA or Homeland Security additional surveillance capabilities. The act does not formally say this though and a section granting this particular power was taken out the same day it passed the House. What’s more up for debate is that this bill would facilitate the sharing of information between companies and government agencies (“with limited oversight and privacy safeguards”).
The controversy that CISPA kicks up revolves around one word though: “notwithstanding.” The full phrase reads, “notwithstanding any other provision of law,” meaning this legislation would trump any other law that may be cited in a court room. So, if an American opposed a state in court, because their medical records, school transcripts, video rental histories, etc. were shared through this act, that person would have no legislation to back them up in the trial. In playground bully terms a fight would go down like this: notwithstanding your right to personal safety, I’m going to punch you in the face.
That one phrase, “notwithstanding,” would cut above wiretap laws, online privacy policies, educational record laws, census data, and the list goes on. In a nutshell CISPA would allow companies to violate their terms of service to you, the social media enthusiasts of the Internet. In case it’s not clear, violating a term of service might look like Facebook giving private information (from a private profile or private message) to the Feds without requiring a search warrant. Sure seems like a lot of personal freedoms could be given away if the bill passes, interesting because this act is supposed to strengthen cybersecurity, right?
The President has threatened to veto the bill, but this tech blogger hopes that the men and women who are supposed to be protecting Americans’ rights come to their senses before the President’s veto would be necessary.
(Photo Courtesy of David Bleasdale)
