The bill, dubbed by some as "Obama's Killswitch Plan" was approved by Homeland Security back in June, some say it was snuck through while the country was busy watching the oil spill in the gulf. It's proponents say the "killswitch" analogy is misguided and that it's a vital piece of US security.
http://www.newlaunches.com/archives/..._shut_down.php
http://www.smh.com.au/technology/sec...0625-z8sf.html
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-20007418-38.html
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Senator Joseph Lieberman has got a bill going which will allow the Prez. to either shut down or seize complete control over portions of the World Wide Web. It?s a bill, known as the Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act (PCNAA). Some are calling this an ?Internet kill switch? which is just mite exaggerated. To some this is a measure of optimum security, by controlling that which is the only real ?free space? on the planet means almost if not absolute control. It could also mean that anytime someone high-up gets a bit angsty about some issue they could simply wipe it out of existence, which is again messing with our freedom.
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Lieberman said Thursday that enactment of his bill needed to be a top congressional priority. "For all of its 'user-friendly' allure, the Internet can also be a dangerous place with electronic pipelines that run directly into everything from our personal bank accounts to key infrastructure to government and industrial secrets," he said. "Our economic security, national security and public safety are now all at risk from new kinds of enemies--cyber-warriors, cyber-spies, cyber-terrorists and cyber-criminals."
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Any internet firms and providers must "immediately comply with any emergency measure or action developed" by a new section of the US Department of Homeland Security, dubbed the "National Centre for Cybersecurity and Communications".
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The critics said that, rather than combat terrorists, it would actually do them "the biggest favour ever" by terrorising the rest of the world, which is now heavily reliant on cyberspace.
Australian academics criticised the description in the bill's title of the internet as a US "national asset", saying any action would disrupt other countries as most of the critical internet infrastructure is located in the US.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protect...onal_Asset_Act
Senator Lieberman has been criticized for giving the President the power to use a "kill switch" which would shut off the Internet. He has called these accusations "total misinformation" and said that "the government should never take over the Internet".[3] However, the bill would allow the President to enact "emergency measures" in the case of a large scale cyber attack. [2] The original bill granted the US President the authority to shut down part of the internet indefinitely, but in a later amendment the maximum time for which the President could control the network was reduced to 120 days. After this period, the networks will have to be brought up, unless Congress approves an extension.
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The Bill itself: (pdf)
http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/index...a-04b7f4cb0123
What do you think about this bill, and that it grants this power?
Are you suspicious of it or do you welcome it and think it's a great idea for improved US security?