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Claiming a possible cyber threat, the bill lets government and business bypass existing laws. They include prohibiting telecommunication companies from monitoring routine communications. The bill permit it as long as done in "good faith."
Likely abuse is obvious. For example, bill language says "cyber threat intelligence" and "cybersecurity purpose" mean "theft or misappropriation of private or government information, intellectual property, or personally identifiable information."
EFF calls it "a little piece of SOPA wrapped up in a bill that's supposedly designed to facilitate detection of and defense against cybersecurity threats. The language is so vague that an ISP could use it to monitor communications of subscribers for potential infringement of intellectual property."
As a result, ISPs could block or prevent access to accounts accused of infringing, whether or not true. At risk are those providing vital suppressed information everyone has a right to know.
Already severely weakened, First Amendment freedoms could erode further or entirely disappear. Anything business or government finds offensive could be blocked from the public domain. Online information as we now know it could vanish.
Freedoms we take for granted are on the chopping block to eliminate. Passage of current House and Senate bills will be a giant step toward doing it. They provide powerful new repressive tools. Any site or blog could be called a "cyber threat."
Congress wants legislation passed this year. So does Obama. HR 3523 is one of the worst. The Senate version is almost as bad. Vague language is their common denominator.
For example, the Senate bill states:
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