‘Cybersecurity Bill’ CISPA Broadened Then Passed Through House

Bill Means Open Season for DHS Surveillance

Already subbed “SOPA 2” by many of its detractors for its broad language and its potential use to violate the privacy of individual Americans, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) was actually given even broader authority by an amendment today, then passed in a 248-168 vote.

The bill nominally aimed to strengthen information sharing across the intelligence community, but also encourages them to collect data on American citizens that they believe might conceivably benefit national security.

Public criticism had many promising to pare back the authority of this bill, and to increase the liability of companies that give data to the government illegally. Instead, the Quayle Amendment did none of this, and added several more excuses that the government could use to collect information.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) condemned the vote, and says it expects even more popular opposition when it reaches the Senate. The bill has not yet been scheduled for a vote in the Senate, but as with today it might be rushed through ahead of time to avoid scrutiny.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.