Congress Moves to Grant Even More Power to the NSA

Congress Moves to Grant Even More Power to the NSA

Carey Wedler

April 22, 2015

http://theantimedia.org/congress-moves-to-grant-even-more-power-to-...

(ANTIMEDIA) WASHINGTON, D.C. – Privacy advocates are urging the House of Representatives and Senate to vote against bills that further increase the government’s widespread surveillance of citizens. The bills, called the “Protecting Cyber Networks Act” (H.R. 1560) and the “Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act” (S. 754) are the latest move by lawmakers to bolster the strength of the domestic spying apparatus.

One of the main objectives of the new laws is to eliminate consequences for companies that share their users’ private information with the government. The bills refer to this as “liability protection.”

Letters written to members of the House and Senate from a coalition of privacy advocates caution lawmakers that the bills

“…would significantly increase the National Security Agency’s (NSA) access to personal information, and authorize the federal government to use that information for a myriad of purposes unrelated to cyber security.”

This is because a provision of the bill is to “require federal entities to automatically disseminate to the NSA all cyber threat indicators they receive [from corporations], including personal information about individuals.”

One of the biggest problems with the bill, aside from exempting corporations from accountability and increasing NSA power, is the broad definition of a declared “cybersecurity threat.” As defined by the House version of the bill:

“The term ‘cybersecurity threat’ means an action, not protected by the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States, on or through an information system that may result in an unauthorized effort to adversely impact the security, confidentiality, integrity, or availability of an information system or information that is stored on, processed by or transiting an information system.”

Using this vague definition, a person’s data could be shared with not just the NSA, but other “appropriate entities” including the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense, Department of Energy, Department of the Treasury and Department of Justice. As the letters to Congress said, the bills

“…[demonstrate] the potential for government overreach, particularly when statutory language is broad or ambiguous.”

For example, the letters note:

“Law enforcement would be allowed to use cyber threat indicators to investigate crimes and activities that have nothing to do with cybersecurity, such as robbery, arson, carjacking, or any threat of serious bodily injury or death, regardless of whether the harm is imminent.”

Unsurprisingly, the White House and president back the proposed legislation.

It is particularly ironic that proponents of the bill argue it is necessary to neutralize hackers and protect national security. After all, the United States government is guilty of the hacking they claim to want to prevent, which has in turn harmed national security by inspiring hostility from targeted nations.

Further, the legislation merely paves the legal road toward the NSA’s front (and back) door access to private data, which the spy agency has consistently voiced its desire to attain. Though they are predictable, the proposed laws demonstrate a recurring pattern in government justifications for surveillance: politicians and bureaucrats claim to increase security while respecting privacy yet continually demonstrate that the latter is their lowest priority.

The letters to lawmakers bluntly reminded lawmakers of this lack of interest in the concerns of citizens by reminding them that

“Notably, Congress has yet to enact reforms that would effectively rein in the government’s surveillance activities.”

The letters to Congress were signed byamong many othersthe ACLU, Human Rights Watch, the Government Accountability Office, FreedomWorks, and professors from Stanford, Berkeley, and the University of Michigan. The House is expected to vote on its version of the law sometime this week while the Senate incarnation is expected to stall.

Regardless of the outcome, it remains clear that the federal government has every intention of retaining its immense surveillance powers in spite of sweeping skepticism of these policies.


This article (Congress Moves to Grant Even More Power to the NSA) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to the author and TheAntiMedia.org. Tune in to the Anti-Media radio show Monday through Friday @ 11pm Eastern/8pm Pacific. Help us fix our typos: edits@theantimedia.org.

Views: 123

Comment

You need to be a member of 12160 Social Network to add comments!

Join 12160 Social Network

Comment by jon reid on April 24, 2015 at 10:30pm

Yes next will come the mind controlling anal implants. All we will be able to say are the words  "Yes Master" and the NSA will then want more powers granted.

We should all keep them busy solving meaningless messages. Simply send your buddies an email containing "Begin Encryption, use common  Key W-3RsR" and then type gibberish. 

"Destroying the New World Order"

TOP CONTENT THIS WEEK

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE SITE!

mobile page

12160.info/m

12160 Administrators

 

Latest Activity

Less Prone commented on Doc Vega's blog post Was Sabotage or Terrorism used in the Collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge?
"Perfect for destroying the supply chain. It could well have been intentional."
9 hours ago
Less Prone favorited Doc Vega's blog post Was Sabotage or Terrorism used in the Collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge?
9 hours ago
Doc Vega posted blog posts
11 hours ago
rlionhearted_3 posted photos
14 hours ago
rlionhearted_3 favorited Doc Vega's photo
14 hours ago
tjdavis posted a video

Alabama’s Biggest Secret - Operation Paperclip 🇺🇸

In the north of Alabama is the city of Huntsville. It's here where German scientists built NASA in secrecy after World War II. Operation Paperclip is still s...
17 hours ago
tjdavis posted a photo
19 hours ago
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post Americans You’re Being Squeezed Out!
"Cheeki kea always nice to her you chime in and you're damn right! "
yesterday
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post Americans You’re Being Squeezed Out!
"Les Prone thanks for your support Dude! "
yesterday
Doc Vega posted a photo

The inconvenient truth

Trump spells it out!
yesterday
Sandy posted a photo
Wednesday
Less Prone favorited Doc Vega's blog post What Made the Founding Fathers of America so Brilliant?
Tuesday
Less Prone commented on Doc Vega's blog post Why didn't the Archeological World Announce Proof that Jesus Lived?
"Motives of Joe, to shit in the well by showing totally irrelevant proof?"
Tuesday
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post Why didn't the Archeological World Announce Proof that Jesus Lived?
"Less, Motives of Wyatt or Joe? What archeologist wouldn't want proof of Jesus as part of his…"
Tuesday
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post Why didn't the Archeological World Announce Proof that Jesus Lived?
"Less Prone, Considering Joe Rogan to be the gatekeeper of anything is just short of ridiculous the…"
Tuesday
Doc Vega posted a blog post
Tuesday
MAC posted a video

Don't Go To Hong Kong Now (Even on Connecting Flights)

Secure your privacy with Surfshark! Enter coupon code laowhy86 for an extra 3 months free at https://Surfshark.deals/laowhy86Article 23 in Hong Kong is real,...
Tuesday
cheeki kea commented on cheeki kea's video
Thumbnail

Terrorist Attack on Moscow - Ukraine Committing Suicide? | Larry C. Johnson

"...And I guess I'll just park this you tube here also for something to ponder from last year.…"
Tuesday
tjdavis posted photos
Tuesday
Less Prone posted a video

Climate: The Movie (The Cold Truth) NL

Deze nieuwe documentaire van de Britse filmmaker Martin Durkin toont aan dat klimaatalarm een verzonnen doembeeld is zonder enige wetenschappelijke basis. He...
Monday

© 2024   Created by truth.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

content and site copyright 12160.info 2007-2019 - all rights reserved. unless otherwise noted