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Microsoft Backs Away From CISPA Support, Citing Privacy
suraj.sun writes "CISPA, the hotly-contested cybersecurity bill making its way through Congress, has been supported by Microsoft since it was introduced. However, the company now tells CNET that any such legislation must 'honor the privacy and security promises we make to our customers,' while also 'protecting consumer privacy.' As you may recall, the U.S. House passed CISPA on Thursday. The Obama administration has threatened to veto the bill. Quoting CNET: 'That's a noticeable change — albeit not a complete reversal — from Microsoft's position when CISPA was introduced in November 2011. To be sure, Microsoft's initial reaction to CISPA came before many of the privacy concerns had been raised. An anti-CISPA coalition letter (PDF) wasn't sent out until April 16, and a petition that garnered nearly 800,000 signatures wasn't set up until April 5. What makes CISPA so controversial is a section saying that, "notwithstanding any other provision of law," companies may share information with Homeland Security, the IRS, the NSA, or other agencies. By including the word "notwithstanding," CISPA's drafters intended to make their legislation trump all existing federal and state laws, including ones dealing with wiretaps, educational records, medical privacy, and more.'"
A democracy only works when the public isn't mainly comprised of morons. I blame shitty public education.
With corporate backers of CISPA including Facebook, there is room for tech giants to secure some quick PR gains in the tech community with this. I think many people found the Windows 8 developer/consumer preview underwhelming, if not annoying. Seriously, Windows without a Start menu? I'm starting to believe the Mayans about what's supposed to happen in December. What was more alarming about this Windows 8 business, is how closed Microsoft was to popular opinion. The Windows 7 RC generated massive contributions. (It actually did... I am not just citing the "Windows 7 wsa my idea" ad campaign.) It seems that Windows 8 was entirely Microsoft's idea. If they want to be numb to the complaints of their own fanbase and turn Windows 8 into the bastard child of a currently non-existent Windows tablet and a Windows 7 PC, that is cool... I run Linux anyway. I was only responding to the developer preview to help them out. I do not think political PR stunts like this can change the fact that Microsoft is turning into a corporation more and more out of touch with their own customer base. Seriously, try to explain to corporate America why a clusterfuck start screen of different apps helps productivity. Windows 8 may be the greatest giveaway to RHEL ever, and not even appealing to populist disgust with CISPA is going to change that.
They will keep putting forward bill after bill, chipping away privacy rights a little at a time if necessary. Any setback is merely temporary for them. Time (and money) is on their side.
What someone should be doing is introducing legislation that enumerates, codifies, and protects specific rights and expectations of privacy that citizens have, and then work the anti-terrorist/copying/IP laws around that framework. (I know, we shouldn't need to do this, but it's our system apparently.) This is bass-ackwards.
Note that this is exclusively for law enforcement -- law abiding citizens would presumably have difficult obtaining technical information or copies of this product (I doubt that criminals will have much trouble). The last line on that page is telling:
If it's vital to government, it's mission critical to Microsoft.
Palm trees and 8
Please - the only reason Microsoft is backing away from it now is because they were caught supporting it. Look for them to happily support the next anti-consumer bill to come down the pike if the bill benefits them... and just like this time, and SOPA before it, they'll quietly hope that this time, nobody notices.
Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
It happened because the public is too involved making sure their party gets elected, right or wrong, to give a fuck about what their party is actually doing. This kind of thinking has all the trappings of a high school football game. The sooner that people abandon their party the sooner we get back to being where we need to be. The current division in American trust is split along party lines and even when both "sides" agree they refuse to come to terms because they see it as taking on the banner of the enemy.
People planet wide will suffer for what has happened for decades to come.
I blame the fact that most Americans have no idea why their rights are important, or what life would be like without those rights. We are already starting to get our feet wet with this, but people need to be tossed in head first before they really understand the issues. When people are being asked for their papers before being allowed to cross state lines, when their search histories are scrutinized whenever they try to spend money, when it becomes impossible to live without breaking laws and bribing cops, then people will understand -- but by then it will be too late anyway.
Palm trees and 8
Umm no. The geeks rose up about Microsoft back in the day because they tried to own the entirety of computing through a long campaign of malicious acts. Sure we hate paying licensing and the MS scheme is egregious, but thats not what evoked retribution.
Good-bye
So in other words MS was perfectly willing to allow the US government access to all it's customers data and machines without a warrant or any kind of reasonable probable cause as long as it was on the down low. But when it is publicized, they decide it is not such a s good idea. This situation leads credence that MS might already supply customer data on demand to the US government, so this is really SNAFU.
"She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
Microsofts business is to sell software
They also have a substantial and growing online services division, and they are still in a precarious position when it comes to antitrust laws. Microsoft does not want to endanger its relationship with the government -- a relationship that basically resulted in the punishment for their previous antitrust case being completely ignored. They also sell technology to law enforcement agencies that helps in the gathering of computer evidence.
A business built on privacy violations? No, nobody can accuse Microsoft of that, at least not without some real evidence to back it up. A friendly and valuable relationship with the government, that has allowed them to continue to dominate various markets? Absolutely, and that is why they supported CISPA -- it basically gave them a free pass to cultivate that relationship.
Palm trees and 8
I can't believe this comment hasn't been judged as either flame-bait or trolling. Even if Microsoft wasn't interested early on in collecting data, since they began focusing on the Web, they've made every effort to facilitate the efforts of their customers (not end users) to do so.
Aside from this, what is Bing! if not another attempt to pigeonhole every end user by their habits, preferences and communications.
Pro-privacy... give me a break.
This bill supercedes the US constitution. Its a blank cheque to the content industries. For Americans wanting anything left of their civil liberties, they should fight this. Americans send missiles, guns, ships, and bombs to other countries to protect their interests. Why is no one sending these materials to the content industries that have effectively enslaved them? The content industries can commit capital crimes (murder, slavery, torture, anything they like) because of this bill. They crossed the line. Its a disgrace to all those who fought in any war in the US. The gutless legislators who supported this sold the farm. They don't deserve citizenship. The US can no longer be called a democracy, because it isn't.
It can be done well and with those people I have no complaint, but, in my experience,
As a college educated individual in a STEM discipline, I'd feel perfectly confident with homeschooling in science or math courses. Have me try to teach a history class and the results would be comical at best. The idea that John Q. Public, with nothing more than a textbook for the class, can be as effective at education as someone with Masters (required in my state, YMMV) is indicative of the dismissive attitude we tend to take towards education.
Some notable stats: among homeschooling fathers, ~32% have "Some College/No Degree" or less. Mothers do slightly worse with ~33% having the same education level. If we include through BA/BS (which is unlikely to be in something relevant to teaching) the numbers are even more stark. At a time when we are demanding more of our teachers, are we also going to say that a few classes at the community college is sufficient to teach high school calculus?
Source
cat
1) Microsoft happily supported it because at the time no one outside of Congress and a few tech giants knew what it actually was. Once its evils were divulged and the tech world at large began ringing the alarms, Microsoft scuttled back. I doubt you'll find those PR release in support of CISPA now, at least not without resorting to archive.org
2) Google actually took no position on CISPA. Their quote is as follows:
"We think this is an important issue and we're watching the process closely but we haven't taken a formal position on any specific legislation."
(The author of the CNET article posted that above-linked quote. Read the story for context).
In other words, Google is sitting back and not taking any position. Nice attempt to shill on your part, though.
Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
Lets see your data, because if what you said was true then frankly you'd have the story of the decade, but of course it is more likely you are talking out of your tinfoil covered ass. Looking at my own Win 7 HP box, which has been running pretty much 24/7 since Oct 09, I have the browser, Steam running an update...and that is pretty much it. i have MSE checking every few hours for an update, but I'm not seeing a single thing that isn't from software i installed or authorized.
Now if you want to complain that MSFT won't take the right to install dumbshit then that's true, you can pile on the toolbars and fill your taskbar with a huge pile of shitware, but if you actually pay attention to what you install there will be VERY little traffic coming from your machine and all of it pretty obviously things you authorize, such as Windows time service calling NIST.
ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
Please - the only reason Microsoft is backing away from it now is because they were caught supporting it.
They haven't backed away from it. It's only one of their reputation managers in MSM adding some positive spin.
To quote a Reddit poster:
Ugh, this is the same pattern as SOPA. Microsoft supported SOPA (which is the house version of the PROTECT IP act, which they still support) for a month until it started to get bad press. Then they changed their position to "it needs more work". They never said they opposed it.
The person who interpreted that as "opposition" was... Declan McCullagh of CNet! The very same guy who is now trying to give the impression that Microsoft no longer supports CISPA.
http://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/swdtn/microsoft_backs_away_from_cispa_support_citing/c4hl9xe
"I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."