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Senate Panel Approves Cybersecurity Bill

Posted by kdawson on from the wrong-meme dept.

GovTechGuy writes "A Senate Committee approved a bill that would give the president an emergency 'kill switch' over the Internet, but added some restrictions to the bill. The president may no longer simply assert that the threat remains indefinitely, he must now seek Congressional approval after 120 days. Still, privacy advocates are concerned about the government's ability to shut down private networks. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) 'said she was disappointed to read reports that the bill gives the White House a "kill switch" for the Internet, an authority she says the president already has under a little-known clause in the Communications Act passed one month after the December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. ... Collins [argued] the new bill actually circumscribes the president's existing authority and puts controls on its use.'"

7 of 269 comments (clear)

  1. BUtton by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    I hope to god they install another big button in his desks - right next to the nuke button and the strippers button.

  2. Time to get a hard copy! by theJML · · Score: 2, Funny

    Yeap, this means it's time to get a hard copy of the entire internet so we can just keep surfing in offline mode.

    --
    -=JML=-
    1. Re:Time to get a hard copy! by ch-chuck · · Score: 2, Funny

      Would suck to work at archive.org during an emergency - wandering hordes of internet addict zombies would converge on the place from all over to get their fix.

      --
      try { do() || do_not(); } catch (JediException err) { yoda(err); }
  3. Re:Can someone explain? by silanea · · Score: 2, Funny

    [...(] no, you can't use the internet to send the message that the internet needs to be shut down).

    Generations of script kiddies prove you wrong. Getting it working again that way may proof a little more, ah, challenging though.

    --
    Rudolf Hess edited Mein Kampf. He was the very first grammar nazi.
  4. Actual use by halcyon1234 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Michelle: Are you coming to bed?

    Barrak: I can't. This is important.

    Michelle: What?

    Barrak: Someone is wrong on the Internet.

    Michelle: Oh, for the love of-- {pushes button}

    --
    UTF-8: There and Back Again
  5. Re:not likely to happen by stewbacca · · Score: 2, Funny

    Who decides how dire is dire enough?

    Mark Knopfler, obviously.

  6. Re:Explain with good examples why it's needed. by elucido · · Score: 2, Funny

    If you know how to use the internet properly you learn how to filter the BS out. By now most people have a list of sites they go to (like slashdot) discuss complicated issues with other intellectuals and reach a decision. If you have no forum, no place to debate, no websites at all, it's much more difficult to make wise decisions.

    Yes there will always be websites and individuals who promote ignorance. But we cannot counter the ignorance without an open forum on the internet to compare the dumb ideas to the smart ideas.