Candice Lanier
Liberty News Network
12 June 2012
The Lieberman-Collins Cybersecurity Act poses a significant threat to online rights, according to the Electronic Fronier Foundation.
The Cybersecurity Act is sponsored by Sen. Collins (R-ME) and Sen. Lieberman (CT) and was drafted with the detection and thwarting of network attacks in mind. It has been criticized, however, for infringing on civil liberties.
According to EFF:
- The bill uses dangerously vague language to define “cybersecurity threat indicators” (information that companies can share with the government), leaving the door open to abuse (intentional or accidental) in which companies share protected user information with the government without a judge ever getting involved.
- Data collected under the Cybersecurity Act can be shared with law enforcement for non-cybersecurity purposes if it “appears to relate to a crime” either past, present, or near future. This is overbroad and contrary to the spirit of our Constitution. Senator Wyden, talking about a similar provision in CISPA, noted “They would allow law enforcement to look for evidence of future crimes, opening the door to a dystopian world where law enforcement evaluates your Internet activity for the potential that you might commit a crime.” The CSA suffers the same “future crime” flaw…
The article continues at Liberty News Network.
