http://www.zdnet.com/cispa-passes-u-...nt-7000014205/
"The controversial Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) just passed the U.S. House, and will now head to the upper Senate chamber for further deliberation.
Rinse and repeat. This isn't the first time that this has happened, but it still poses a major threat to Fourth Amendment rights, according to civil liberties campaigners."
"The Bill was passed 288-127 in favor of the Bill after two days of debate and discussion on the House floor. Only 18 members of the House abstained from the vote.
CISPA will allow private sector firms to search personal and sensitive user data of ordinary U.S. residents to identify "threat information," which can then be shared with other opt-in firms and the U.S. government ? without the need for a court-ordered warrant.
This means a company like Facebook, Twitter, Google, or any other technology or telecoms company, including your cell service provider, would be legally able to hand over vast amounts of data to the U.S. government and its law enforcement ? for whatever purpose it deems necessary ? and face no legal reprisals.
And despite numerous amendments and changes, there are no requirements that personal data, such as health records or banking information, should be anonymized before sharing it with the government.
It's hoped that the data can be used in real time to stop cyberattacks in their tracks, or even trace back to the source of the attack. Because cyberattacks nowadays as weapons in the virtual battlefield could lead to all-out war.
The Bill will also amend the National Security Act to allow U.S. intelligence services to hand over classified information to entities and people that do not have security clearance. The idea is that this will be used in order to help companies fight back against and prevent cyberattacks on their systems in the future.
A great deal of controversy has stirred around this Bill. Having amendments passed in a veil of secrecy did not help matters, either.
To make things even more complicated, a new amendment, voted down by lawmakers on Wednesday in the U.S. House, would have allowed U.S. companies to keep their privacy policies intact and their promises valid, including terms of service, legally enforceable in the future.
It means that the many who signed up to such services under terms that promised their data would not be shared with anyone ? unless a subpoena or court order was served ? would no longer have such rights going forward.
Though it would have weakened CISPA's overall weight, now it gives additional legal immunity to companies sharing their customer data. Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO), in speaking to ZDNet's sister site CNET, said that such firms are "completely exonerated from any risk of liability."
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http://www.zdnet.com/cispa-passes-u-...nt-7000014205/