----- Forwarded message from Dave Farber <[email protected]> ----- Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2010 13:44:58 -0400 From: Dave Farber <[email protected]> Subject: [IP] LiebIerman bill lets president take emergency control of the Internet Reply-To: [email protected] To: ip <[email protected]>
Begin forwarded message: > From: Declan McCullagh <[email protected]> > Date: June 11, 2010 1:01:47 PM EDT > To: Dave Farber <[email protected]> > Subject: Lieberman bill lets president take emergency control of the Internet > > Dave, > > IPers might be interested in the bill that Sen. Lieberman introduced > yesterday: > http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Files.View&FileStore_id=4ee63497-ca5b-4a4b-9bba-04b7f4cb0123 > > Here's an excerpt from my writeup: > > http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-20007418-38.html >> A new U.S. Senate bill would grant the president far-reaching emergency >> powers to seize control of or even shut down portions of the Internet. >> The legislation announced Thursday says that companies such as broadband >> providers, search engines, or software firms that the government selects >> "shall immediately comply with any emergency measure or action developed" by >> the Department of Homeland Security. Anyone failing to comply would be >> fined. > > The most interesting section starts around page 76. After the president > declares a "cyber emergency," then "the owner or operator of covered critical > infrastructure shall immediately comply with any emergency measure or action > developed by the Director under this section during the pendency of any > declaration by the President under subsection (a)(1) or an extension under > subsection (b)(2)." > > The definitions are intriguing. A "covered critical infrastructure" is a > system or asset that is on a DHS list and "for which the national information > infrastructure (NII) is essential to the reliable operation of the system or > asset." NII is defined as "information infrastructure" (II) "that is owned, > operated, or controlled within or from the United States." II is defined as > the "framework that information systems" use to transmit information, > including "electronic devices" and "software." > > So translated, any company for which the telephone system or Internet is > "essential" can be ordered by DHS to do anything the department wants, with > warrantless wiretapping as the sole exception. There is no other limit to > this power, no appeal process, and no judicial review. (How many companies > would *not* fit into this elastic definition? Wouldn't your IP list qualify > too?) > > Now, I'm sure that DHS's defenders (Stewart Baker, are you reading this?) > will say that we should trust the department and that it would not misuse > this near-absolute authority. And they have a point. But that's a little like > making it illegal to breathe and then trusting prosecutorial discretion to > only put truly bad guys in prison. :) > > -Declan > ------------------------------------------- Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/247/=now RSS Feed: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/247/ Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com ----- End forwarded message -----
