new bill could shut down the internet

[Senator Vitaman]

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009...rnet-freedoms/

The days of an open, largely unregulated Internet may soon come to an end.

A bill making its way through Congress proposes to give the U.S. government authority over all networks considered part of the nation's critical infrastructure. Under the proposed Cybersecurity Act of 2009, the president would have the authority to shut down Internet traffic to protect national security.

The government also would have access to digital data from a vast array of industries including banking, telecommunications and energy. A second bill, meanwhile, would create a national cybersecurity adviser -- commonly referred to as the cybersecurity czar -- within the White House to coordinate strategy with a wide range of federal agencies involved.

I just heard this on another forum. I don't think this bill is a good idea.

[NavyLT]

It's an Obama conspiracy to stop internet sales of firearms, ammunition and firearms related materials. Hurry up and place your orders now!

[JWT]

Not to worry. Al Gore can invent another one to replace it.....

[okiefarmer]

I just skimmed through the .pdf file very quickly. On it's facade, and remember, this was written by lawyers, so if we can't translate lawyer-speak, we really have no clue what it is actually saying, it appears to indicate that they only have the publics best interests in mind. Right. I have yet to see a bill ever do exactly what it said it would do. If they really wanted to help the public on the internet, they would exert a little effort in getting rid of all the spammers, virus writers, and other vermin like that.

I think this bill bears watching.

[azredhawk44]

Not to derail the cynical witty banter above...

But...

Are internet forums and blog sites currently considered "the press" in the sense of the first amendment?

And, would access to the websites of more traditional paper-based newspapers be considered on par with actually having ready access to a news stand, unhindered by the federal government?

I simply fail to see how the internet can ever be a threat to national security. To those who abuse power and rile up the populace for grievous offenses, sure... but not to the actual security of the nation.

Much like the Patriot Act, I see much more ability to abuse power in this notion than I do in real defensive strategy.

[rjrivero]

The Obama is seriously Power Drunk.......Marxism is near.

[alloy]

Surely we, as a people...can nationalize this evil in the era of the new accounting, and yes...sacrifices will be required from us all, but as a people...we can dig deeper and provide the comprehensive security our children demand, safely seeing our nation's way into the new progressive future of all our hopes and dreams where not only the wealthy, but also the impoverished...are protected and rightly entitled...to the vision of a nation of one mind, and a more unified, productive purpose.



Firearm rights could suffer from this i guess somehow.

[comn-cents]

WOW here the Big 0 goes again, sticking his hands into everything.

[Tom Servo]

I simply fail to see how the internet can ever be a threat to national security.

The internet (properly used) can provide a commuication medium that is anonymous, worldwide, instantaneous and above all, well-encrypted (PGP was litigated as a 2nd Amendment issue, if you'll recall). IF things got Orwellian, organizing resistance would be much more feasible and safe.

I read S. 773 when it came out. Section 18 has this well-hidden tidbit:

(2) [the President] may declare a cybersecurity emergency and order the limitation or shutdown of Internet traffic to and from any compromised Federal Government or United States critical infrastructure information system or network;

(…)

(6) may order the disconnection of any Federal Government or United States critical infrastructure information systems or networks in the interest of national security;

That's what everyone's got their panties in a wad about. Who gets to determine what constitutes "critical infrastructure?" Could it be an ISP with virus problems?

In any case, I've spoken with several legislators about it. One responded, "it's a load of crap," while every other one vowed to see it gutted before it reached the floor.

Now, there IS a concern for hardening and protecting our government networks, and I'd support legislation for that. We just need to watch for the little things they slip in there.

[Kreyzhorse]

It's an Obama conspiracy to stop internet sales of firearms, ammunition and firearms related materials. Hurry up and place your orders now!

- pretty funny.

[kayakersteve]

Nothing - Wrong forum.

[polymerius]

....so you mean, all the hippies could use the internet to crash REPUBLICAN CONVENTIONS - but, patriots cannot to communicate...??!@#.....very funny.

[OuTcAsT]

What's this got to do with guns ??? Nothing - Wrong forum

You are correct, but it does tie in to our first amendment rights.

From the L&CR forum rules;

Discussions in this forum will be centered upon legal issues as they relate to the 2nd Amendment and other Civil Rights. Constitutional law (which would encompass separation of powers, the impairment of contracts clause, the full faith and credit clause, etc., as well as the Bill of Rights) will also be on topic.

Lighten up Francis

[kayakersteve]

Outcaster - Lighten up Francis yourself!!

[madmo44mag]

This is the new world order.
Our socialist leader must disarm us and then limit our ability to think for ourselves.
We must not gather to discuss any topic he feels can be a treat to his power.
Welcome to the United Socialist States of America.

OVER MY DEAD BODY!

[Inspector3711]

Yet another Obamination. The guy seems to be skeered of the very folks who voted for him. First he thought they may go crazy with guns and now he's afraid they're trading bad Obama jokes on the web.

[comn-cents]

Bad Obama joke?

[Dragon55]

Dumb question from an old f@^t but how exactly would this get accomplished??

Guys with bad suits and sunglasses walk into each local internet provider (in my case Charter) and have them to 'turn it off'?

I really don't understand the difficulty of this.

Or, is their some big @$$ switch somewhere someone can flip?

I know the Chinese do this some how but not clear how?

I gotta go to work ... but would appreciate an answer PM'd to me.

[Yellowfin]

Something tells me this is about political dissent.

[ftd]

Alloy,
Are you waxing elegantly or....something else? I'm not understanding your post.

[ZeSpectre]

Under the proposed Cybersecurity Act of 2009, the president would have the authority to shut down Internet traffic to protect national security.

somehow that seems like "the patient is ill, lets shoot him so he doesn't get worse".

[csmsss]

I really don't understand the difficulty of this.

It's really not that hard. All internet traffic gets where it's going by means of DNS servers. There are exactly 13 of these "root" name servers which provide DNS for the entire internet, and all of them live in the U.S. of A. Shut them down, and you can basically shut the internet down. Yes, there are name servers that will provide "some" service when the root servers are down, but will not be updated with any new or changed DNS names, and will be quickly overwhelmed with traffic. This is primarily because the caching of names/IP addresses these remote name servers perform is generally very poorly executed.

Even if DNS root servers physically lived outside of the U.S., Obama, at least under the terms of this proposed legislation, could order a shutdown of all communications into or outside of the U.S. and could easily isolate us should he so choose.

[pax]

If you're seriously worried about this, support the work and follow the news from the Electronic Freedom Foundation. That organization is well worth watching, for those concerned about modern technology and ancient freedoms.

pax

[CortJestir]

Funny...wonder what the reaction would be if this were proposed between, say, 9/12/01 and 1/19/09.

I'm just sayin'...

And yes, join, support and donate to the EFF if you care about your online privacy and individual rights.

[#18indycolts]

It's an Obama conspiracy to stop internet sales of firearms, ammunition and firearms related materials. Hurry up and place your orders now!