It Just Won’t Die: CISPA Returns to Threaten Internet Freedom
February 12th, 2013
First, lawmakers rallied behind the Stop Online Piracy Act, a well-intended but disastrous bill that would have essentially criminalized the sharing of YouTube videos on Facebook. Then, an attempt was made in 2012 to pass CISPA, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, which failed after initially passing the House. This bill was reviled by civil liberties groups and tech companies for granting the government near-unlimited access to all private data held by online services.
Tomorrow, internet freedom faces serious threats once again — this time from two fronts. The President will issue an executive order on cyber-security in an attempt to steal citizens’ private data from websites. At the same time, CISPA will be reintroduced in the House of Representatives. Like a bad horror movie sequel, CISPA is back with a vengeance.
Will the Internet Rise Up Once Again?
So far, previous attempts to regulate the internet through the executive branch have failed. Court systems already exist to enforce contracts between parties that do business online. Since there is no specific need for unique internet regulations, these “cyber-security” bills rarely gain much support from web users. Most people like how the internet works now.
However, stopping bills like these takes enormous grassroots energy. “Stop SOPA” and “Stop CISPA” campaigns have worked successfully in the past, but, in each case, millions of people joined in to protest new laws regulating the internet. Will web users have the energy to fight for internet freedom one more time? Furthermore, will they have the endurance to fight for internet freedom every year? It’s unlikely that tomorrow’s showdown will be the final battle in this epic struggle for civil liberties.
CISPA and the Executive Order Make Online Spying a Public-Private Partnership
The main objective of CISPA is to encourage private companies to hand over data on citizens to the government. Obama’s upcoming executive order attempts to accomplish the same feat. For the most part, companies will hand over information on customers when government agencies come knocking. For those who do, this bill provides legal cover. Some, however, will rightly argue for the need to protect customers’ rights, and this is why politicians desperately want to eviscerate online privacy protections.
This new initiative seeks to take advantage of the competitive nature of business to lure companies into giving up data. Considering the fact that the executive branch will be looking at ways to encourage companies to share data under existing law, it seems likely that regulatory agencies may get involved by strong-arming those that don’t participate with harsher regulatory attention. Those who play ball might find themselves exempt from a couple of the more expensive rules.
If the government gained access, even for one day, to a full dump of data from just Facebook, Google, and Twitter, it would be the largest privacy violation in the history of the world. The NSA is likely already doing this, but CISPA could make these privacy breaches comprehensive and permanent. Let’s hope the worst doesn’t happen tomorrow.
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