Internet Survival

[RuGlu6]

Internet Survival

Is the Internet about to be taken over by the White House, shut down, or allow cyberpeeping into everyone's email as the norm? Such fears are being roused by a bill proposed in the Senate - S.773.

Bill Would Give President Emergency Control of Internet
August 28, 2009
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10320096-38.html
Internet companies and civil liberties groups were alarmed this spring when a U.S. Senate bill proposed handing the White House the power to disconnect private-sector computers from the Internet. A Senate source familiar with the bill compared the president's power to take control of portions of the Internet to what President Bush did when grounding all aircraft on Sept. 11, 2001. The source said that one primary concern was the electrical grid, and what would happen if it were attacked from a broadband connection. Probably the most controversial language begins in Section 201, which permits the president to "direct the national response to the cyber threat" if necessary for "the national defense and security." The White House is supposed to engage in "periodic mapping" of private networks deemed to be critical, and those companies "shall share" requested information with the federal government. Translation: If your company is deemed "critical," a new set of regulations kick in involving who you can hire, what information you must disclose, and when the government would exercise control over your computers or network.