SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Lawmakers 'Fail the Internet,' Sneak Cyber Bill Into Must-Pass Omnibus
"It’s clear now that this bill was never intended to prevent cyber attacks, it’s a disingenuous attempt to quietly expand the U.S. government’s surveillance programs."
Dec 16, 2015
A controversial cyber bill is included in the final text of the must-pass "omnibus" spending deal to be voted on in U.S. Congress this week, even as civil liberties advocates warn it is nothing more than an expansion of government surveillance powers in disguise.
This means the bill is likely to pass "without meaningful debate or transparency on the final text," digital rights group Fight for the Future said Wednesday.
Lawmakers have been pushing for some form of the bill to pass since the Senate passed one version, known as the Cyber Information Sharing Act (CISA), in October and the House of Representatives approved two similar texts in April--but critics say all previous privacy protections have been stripped away, as the bill's Republican backers shut out the public and other members of Congress from the negotiation process.
Opponents also criticized GOP leaders' use of the omnibus to carry the cyber bill into law, as the spending deal is expected to be approved by President Barack Obama when it reaches his desk.
"Congress has failed the Internet once again," said Evan Greer, campaign director at Fight for the Future.
The bill grants tech companies immunity from lawsuits for sharing private user data with intelligence agencies. Its supporters say it will help efforts to safeguard against cyber attacks, while opponents say it would expand government spying operations and reduce privacy and free speech protections for consumers. As the ACLU pointed out in a statement Wednesday, information shared between tech companies and intelligence agencies like the FBI or the NSA could be used "for criminal prosecutions unrelated to cybersecurity, including the targeting of whistleblowers under the Espionage Act."
The ACLU also pointed to another troubling provision buried in the text--revocation of visa waivers granting traveling privileges to people who have visited or hold dual-citizenship in predominantly Muslim countries, such as Syria, Iraq, Iran, or Sudan.
"Once again, members of Congress are using the government funding bill to pursue their extremist agendas," said Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the ACLU. "Sneaking damaging and discriminatory riders into a must-pass bill usurps the democratic process and is irresponsible."
Greer continued, "It's clear now that this bill was never intended to prevent cyber attacks, it's a disingenuous attempt to quietly expand the U.S. government's surveillance programs, and it will inevitably lead to law enforcement agencies using the data they collect from companies through this program to investigate, prosecute, and incarcerate more people, deepening injustices in our society while failing to improve security."
"[N]ow it's up to President Obama to prove that his administration actually cares about the Internet. If he does he has no choice but to veto this blatant attack on Internet security, corporate accountability, and free speech," Greer said.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
big brothercivil libertiesfight for the futurensaopen internetprivacyrepublican partytechnologyus congress
A controversial cyber bill is included in the final text of the must-pass "omnibus" spending deal to be voted on in U.S. Congress this week, even as civil liberties advocates warn it is nothing more than an expansion of government surveillance powers in disguise.
This means the bill is likely to pass "without meaningful debate or transparency on the final text," digital rights group Fight for the Future said Wednesday.
Lawmakers have been pushing for some form of the bill to pass since the Senate passed one version, known as the Cyber Information Sharing Act (CISA), in October and the House of Representatives approved two similar texts in April--but critics say all previous privacy protections have been stripped away, as the bill's Republican backers shut out the public and other members of Congress from the negotiation process.
Opponents also criticized GOP leaders' use of the omnibus to carry the cyber bill into law, as the spending deal is expected to be approved by President Barack Obama when it reaches his desk.
"Congress has failed the Internet once again," said Evan Greer, campaign director at Fight for the Future.
The bill grants tech companies immunity from lawsuits for sharing private user data with intelligence agencies. Its supporters say it will help efforts to safeguard against cyber attacks, while opponents say it would expand government spying operations and reduce privacy and free speech protections for consumers. As the ACLU pointed out in a statement Wednesday, information shared between tech companies and intelligence agencies like the FBI or the NSA could be used "for criminal prosecutions unrelated to cybersecurity, including the targeting of whistleblowers under the Espionage Act."
The ACLU also pointed to another troubling provision buried in the text--revocation of visa waivers granting traveling privileges to people who have visited or hold dual-citizenship in predominantly Muslim countries, such as Syria, Iraq, Iran, or Sudan.
"Once again, members of Congress are using the government funding bill to pursue their extremist agendas," said Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the ACLU. "Sneaking damaging and discriminatory riders into a must-pass bill usurps the democratic process and is irresponsible."
Greer continued, "It's clear now that this bill was never intended to prevent cyber attacks, it's a disingenuous attempt to quietly expand the U.S. government's surveillance programs, and it will inevitably lead to law enforcement agencies using the data they collect from companies through this program to investigate, prosecute, and incarcerate more people, deepening injustices in our society while failing to improve security."
"[N]ow it's up to President Obama to prove that his administration actually cares about the Internet. If he does he has no choice but to veto this blatant attack on Internet security, corporate accountability, and free speech," Greer said.
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
A controversial cyber bill is included in the final text of the must-pass "omnibus" spending deal to be voted on in U.S. Congress this week, even as civil liberties advocates warn it is nothing more than an expansion of government surveillance powers in disguise.
This means the bill is likely to pass "without meaningful debate or transparency on the final text," digital rights group Fight for the Future said Wednesday.
Lawmakers have been pushing for some form of the bill to pass since the Senate passed one version, known as the Cyber Information Sharing Act (CISA), in October and the House of Representatives approved two similar texts in April--but critics say all previous privacy protections have been stripped away, as the bill's Republican backers shut out the public and other members of Congress from the negotiation process.
Opponents also criticized GOP leaders' use of the omnibus to carry the cyber bill into law, as the spending deal is expected to be approved by President Barack Obama when it reaches his desk.
"Congress has failed the Internet once again," said Evan Greer, campaign director at Fight for the Future.
The bill grants tech companies immunity from lawsuits for sharing private user data with intelligence agencies. Its supporters say it will help efforts to safeguard against cyber attacks, while opponents say it would expand government spying operations and reduce privacy and free speech protections for consumers. As the ACLU pointed out in a statement Wednesday, information shared between tech companies and intelligence agencies like the FBI or the NSA could be used "for criminal prosecutions unrelated to cybersecurity, including the targeting of whistleblowers under the Espionage Act."
The ACLU also pointed to another troubling provision buried in the text--revocation of visa waivers granting traveling privileges to people who have visited or hold dual-citizenship in predominantly Muslim countries, such as Syria, Iraq, Iran, or Sudan.
"Once again, members of Congress are using the government funding bill to pursue their extremist agendas," said Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the ACLU. "Sneaking damaging and discriminatory riders into a must-pass bill usurps the democratic process and is irresponsible."
Greer continued, "It's clear now that this bill was never intended to prevent cyber attacks, it's a disingenuous attempt to quietly expand the U.S. government's surveillance programs, and it will inevitably lead to law enforcement agencies using the data they collect from companies through this program to investigate, prosecute, and incarcerate more people, deepening injustices in our society while failing to improve security."
"[N]ow it's up to President Obama to prove that his administration actually cares about the Internet. If he does he has no choice but to veto this blatant attack on Internet security, corporate accountability, and free speech," Greer said.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.