Congress Considering CISPA Amendments 85
First time accepted submitter casac8 writes "As Friday's House vote on CISPA nears, it appears Congress members are getting nervous. Literally millions of people around the world have signed petitions voicing their opposition, and it appears Congress has heard their concerns, as House members are considering a number of amendments aimed at limiting the negative impacts the legislation would have on Internet privacy. For instance, one amendment likely to pass would tighten the bill's language to ensure its provisions are only applied in the pursuit of legit crimes and other rare instances, rather than whenever the NSA wants to target Joe Web-user. And another would increase possible liability on the parts of companies who hand personal information over to the government."
Tor (Score:1)
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spoiler: Tor's security isn't worth shit to NSA wanna-be hackers, those guys think have the best mathematicians in the world and also the best computer gear, they act like they could find all the e-mails you've ever sent since you first went on the internet.
FTFY
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The really sad part is that it's fairly trivial to use GPG, etc to encrypt email these days. The problem is that most people seem to use web clients now, meaning that you need to trust your keys to a web based provider.
Re:Tor (Score:5, Informative)
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Your average web user won't do that though. A pre-configured client that has your private key will allow it to be done automatically, which is what is will take. Well, that a a much larger number of people with keys.
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I could use that. I've lost a term paper on Laurie Anderson that I wrote and posted online, back in '93 or '94.
"Free Country" (Score:5, Insightful)
If only there were an option for those who don't want to be tracked by repressive governments...
The citizenry of a "Free Country" as America claims to be should not have to resort to such measures in order to hide their day-to-day activities from their government.
Re:Tor (Score:5, Informative)
Thought that Tor was outlawed by repressive governments like US (backspace, backspace) China, Iran, etc.
Ron Paul says corporations will âact as government spiesâ(TM) under CISPA. "It represents an alarming form of corporatism, as it further intertwines government with companies like Google and Facebook." LINK - http://runronpaul.com/web-media/ron-paul-corporations-will-%E2%80%98act-as-government-spies%E2%80%99-under-cispa/ [runronpaul.com]
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Modded both "troll" and "informative" on the same post. LOL. That's new.
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Modded both "troll" and "informative" on the same post. LOL. That's new.
I just wish for a Flamebait +1
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Re:Tor (Score:5, Interesting)
Paul is -- I can't believe I'm saying this -- right.
CISPA provides one monster carrot to those who "voluntarily" participate in CISPA, and that's immunity from ever being sued for failing to safeguard the privacy of their users.
Have a hacker steal millions of financial records, health records, or credit card numbers, and as long as they were participating in CISPA, and sharing "threat" data, they were acting in "good faith" to secure their networks, and as such can not be sued for failing to protect their customer's personal data.
CISPA could literally save a company millions of dollars, and that's why Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and many, many more are supporters .
More at http://www.isights.org/2012/04/cispas-good-faith-carrot-needs-no-stick.html [isights.org]
Personal Responsibility (Score:5, Insightful)
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Let your people know that you're watching and they'll need to answer for this.
But what are you going to do? At best, you can throw your support behind an opponent (assuming you don't despise him or her more than the incumbent). And that threat can only be executed when the next election rolls around - could be many months away
There should be a way to recall a politician right now.
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And my congresscritter has run unopposed in this district for several years.
Not that he'd lose -- it's a pretty hard-core right wing district, which probably why no one is likely to run against him.
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Right on.
Waiting until the next election lets them screw us over then get the private sector to line them up a nice cushily rewarding job.
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How do I find the re-election campaign paypal account for my representatives?
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Re:Personal Responsibility (Score:4, Informative)
Yep.
I'd like to take this opportunity to point these guys out [demandprogress.org], while we are on it. Also these [movetoamend.org].
Re:Personal Responsibility (Score:5, Interesting)
Just done.
"Dear congressional employee:
"I am dissatisfied with your work. You've already proved you're delinquency by passing the Patriot Act, TARP bailouts, mandatory purchase of insurance (which I don't want), support for destruction of perfectly usable cars via Cash for Clunkers, and the NDAA "Shut up, you don't get a lawyer" provision.
"So I won't be the least surprised if you pass CISPA, giving corporations authority to spy on my internet usage for the benefit of the Homeland Security, and thereby confirming my initial conjecture. I'll be campaigning against you in the fall. Please pack-up your desk and remove your belongs by the end of the year."
Signed,
Your boss,
We the people.
Re:Personal Responsibility (Score:5, Informative)
yeah, that letter will get results.
I can't tell if you are trolling or not but if you were serious, you should have an adult proofread your text before you get yourself into trouble (so many gov trouble-maker lists, I can't keep track anymore).
seriously, there is a way to deal with critters in office; and then there is your style...
I agree with your feelings, but your methods won't accomplish what you hope.
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Go kiss ass all you want. At some point, when Congress has a 9% approval rating after people have tried and failed for years to convince and sweet talk and charm them into doing the right thing, finally you just have to talk to the pieces of shit like the pieces of shit they are. If enough angry people flood into their inboxes explaining what pieces of shit they are, eventually, something will change. It might take putting the mother fucker up against a wall and blowing his brains out, but one way or anothe
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>>>seriously, there is a way to deal with critters in office; and then there is your style...
So how many times have you changed your Congressperson to change his mind? What's that:? ZERO? Well then I guess your way is no more effective..... just as polls showed 75% of Americans opposed the TARP but the congress passed it anyway. They don't care what we say.
So why bother being polite to them? They deserve no more politeness than a delinquent employee that you fire and toss out on the curb. "Go
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I contacted my congressman to express my opposition. Anyone else?
Ha!
I'd be more impressed if anyone actually heard back something other than a canned letter "thank you for your support of CISPA" (regardless of the fact that your opinion was against it)
What I am to do next? What we sorely, sorely need is a standardized mechanism to recall and/or black-list (can't run for X months) a politician. As long as Y people from the constituency express their support for the penalty. The guarantee of politician's remaining term makes them complacent. In a year or two current
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money talks.
you want results? organize and collect money to bribe the officials.
note, though: you are in heavy competition and I seriously doubt a grassroots fundraiser will even be a fraction of a fraction of what it takes to sway the officials.
besides, its also the gov that wants this. good luck convincing them that they are wrong.
Donated to my Congressman (Score:1)
I Donated to my Congressman's campaign to block you losers
Suck it hippy!
Open Congress Link to Voice Opposition (Score:2)
Your Cheese? (Score:5, Insightful)
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Indeed. They've tried this before with SOPA / PIPA, floating the idea of a few amendments here and a few amendments there. It's just an attempt to gauge how large the opposition truly is, and whether or not they can safely pass the bill without getting themselves voted out of office. For SOPA / PIPA, it appeared the opposition was large enough and strong enough that passing the bill would doom them (when large companies like Google have you in their sights, and there is a large following among the populace.
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Re:Your Cheese? (Score:4, Insightful)
Last I heard Google, Microsoft, and other internet companies are supporting CISPA. Which is sad. They were the ones who helped defeat SOPA, but now they are siding with CISPA. It will likely pass.
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Re:Your Cheese? (Score:5, Informative)
Just so. Google "is working behind the scenes" [thehill.com] to get CISPA enacted. I wonder if that isn't because they maybe think they can exempt themselves from something by getting involved, or perhaps they were threatened elsewhere for their embarrassing (to its proponents) public opposition to SOPA. Another reason -- as explained in this Lifehacker [lifehacker.com] story -- is that CISPA pushes the role of censor onto the state expressly, where SOPA would have required Google et al. to take on that task themselves, and at the behest of any copyright holder. CISPA is much broader and gives the government all sorts of powers it really shouldn't have under any rational reading of the Bill of Rights (the first and fourth amendments, particularly).
Re:Your Cheese? (Score:5, Informative)
There's a good reason why Facebook and Microsoft and other tech companies are supporting CISPA.
You see, CISPA provides one monster carrot to those who "voluntarily" participate, and that's complete and total immunity from EVER being sued for failing to safeguard the privacy of your users.
http://www.isights.org/2012/04/cispas-good-faith-carrot-needs-no-stick.html [isights.org]
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It could well be their getting put on a spit and roasted over an anti-trust spit.
Hopefully a moot point (Score:3, Informative)
Looks a veto is looming..... http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-57421267-281/white-house-takes-aim-at-cispa-with-formal-veto-threat/ [cnet]
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Yea, and hopefully someone slaps Lamar Smith with a clue-bat a few times.
Re:Hopefully a moot point (Score:4, Insightful)
White House also said they'd veto NDAA, but they were secretly working behind the scenes to add the 2 sentences that allow Americans to be jailed w/o trial. And then they signed the bill on New Year's Eve, rather than veto it.
As the saying goes, fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. I doubt the president's word when he says he would veto something..... especially after he went and signed the ACTA (and now refuses to let the Senate see it).
Re:Hopefully a moot point (Score:5, Insightful)
Yes, the President has threatened to veto CISPA -- in its current form. However, CISPA's primary sponsors still plan on slapping on some patches (excuse me, amendments) and to proceed towards Friday's vote.
Unfortunately, many of those amendments have their own issues. One even offers -- I kid you not -- a promise to "develop" policies and procedures that will protect individual privacy and civil liberties... after the bill is passed.
It's okay. Trust us.
More at http://www.isights.org/2012/04/president-obama-threatens-to-veto-cispa-authors-brush-off-threat.html [isights.org]
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We *can't* throw them out until next election, which is exactly why they rightly have nothing to fear from us.
Once they're in office all they have to do is screw us hard enough to get a cushy private sector job lined up for them for when we eventually get a chance to boot them, assuming that by then we still remember and whoever their opponent is isn't worse.
No federal recall means that politicians in congress do not answer to the voters at all.
Without federal recall voters are just cattle to be milked.
Amendments? How about just not passing it. (Score:1)
It's sewage. Don't make it law. Flush it.
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They need to consider the amendment... (Score:4, Insightful)
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Getting the foot in the door. (Score:5, Interesting)
The best part of the proposed amendments is the supposed liability for the companies violating privacy and handing over info to the government. How'd that work out with the massive illegal NSA wiretapping? Oh that's right, everyone was granted retroactive immunity and the whistle blower got criminal prosecution for his trouble. Somehow, I seriously doubt that the privacy provisions will carry much weight or have any teeth. This bill needs to die.
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The thing that puzzles me if why they even bother with this bill, they're already recording all the messages they can get. Is this just a way to make it legal? And does it matter since they'd do it with or without a law.
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Believe it if you will. Based on past history I'm not at all willing to accept that Obama's honest about *this* veto. And even if he, technically, is, the promise was wrapped in enough weasel words that he can sign it, and claim to be honest, because it's changed since he made the promise.
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if you see a law that seems just; look behind it and you'll find a hidden one that undoes the first one.
what would be great (my dream): NO NEW LAWS. period.
that would stop all this bullshit creeping featurism.
do we need more laws? it seems that laws that we have passed over the last 20 years have all been paid for by PAC money and not one has been created due to actual need BY THE PEOPLE.
oh right: corps are now people.
ignore what I just wrote. I was still stuck in the past, where the constitution still m
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Legal framework around existing spyware (Score:5, Interesting)
A couple of points about this. First, if the recent Wired article on the under-construction Utah data center [wired.com] is accurate, mass spying is already underway with increasing volumes being planned. So I think it is fair to say that this is a reflection of Total Information Awareness [wikipedia.org] and the post-Admiral Poindexter philosophy of spying: build it and let 'em try and take it away later. CISPA, then, is best thought of as a legal framework around existing and planned hardware buildouts. While I do not expect the Obama White House to be forthcoming with its real reasoning for threatening a veto [cnet.com], I presume that the real reason is that CISPA does not go far enough so far as the executive branch is concerned.
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If it doesn't have the support of Facebook, Obama will not be in favor of it too.
http://nation.foxnews.com/facebook/2011/02/17/obama-meeting-facebook-ceo-mark-zuckerberg-secret [foxnews.com]
Amendment is not enough (Score:2, Insightful)
Amending it is not enough - the bill needs to be thrown out completely, to deliver a strong enough message to the authors that they need to stop trying to get this sort of thing through. It's not a very big deterrent from trying it again, but it's about the best we could hope for.
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Our congress critters have nothing to fear from us.
Because we can't boot them out of office until next election which means they have a shitload of time to farm out a nice cushy private sector job from the same congress trough fillers that are "lobbying" them to pass this shit in the first place.
Once someone's in office, they're scot free and the only ones who can get rid of them are their brothers who are feeding from the same corporate troughs they are.
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If only that worked. Verizon is also in support of the bill, I would guess all the major ISPs are behind it. Who will you go to when they are all the same?
Why is this bill needed? (Score:1)
From TFA...
U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., a lead sponsor, has said, the bill would "help the private sector defend itself from advanced cyber threats."
If that's really all the bill does, why is it needed? Why would intertube [wikipedia.org] experts in "cybersecurity" need help from the morons in Congress to do their job?
Give 'em something to chew on (Score:1)
This will be testing the power of the people (Score:1)
Federal recall! (Score:2)
Is it any wonder that our congress critters are screwing us in the ass every chance we get?
They have nothing to fear from us.
First off, we can't even touch them until the next election.
Second, even if we do vote them out, they have plenty of time to build up a cushy private sector job as a *reward* for stepping on our rights.
Third, because of one and two, the next guy that runs against them has no incentive to be any better.
Federal recall elections will solve this issue of corruption...which is unfortunatel
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