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Mozilla Calls CISPA an "Alarming" Threat to Privacy
Sparrowvsrevolution writes "Mozilla has taken a public stand against the controversial Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, saying that it has a 'broad and alarming reach' that 'infringes on our privacy.' That makes it the first major tech firm to speak out against CISPA. Facebook, Microsoft, IBM, Intel, Oracle and Symantec are all included among the companies that support the bill, which passed the House late last month and is now being considered in the Senate. Google has so far declined to take a stand supporting or opposing the bill."
..."Why the hell did it take you this long?"
Google did indicate that they're lobbying on it, but won't say which way, which leads to the question. If they're lobbying against it, why would they hide it?
http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/223069-google-acknowledges-lobbying-on-cybersecurity-bill-cispa
There are strong indications that Google is actually supporting the bill behind closed doors and hiding it avoid a public backlash.
http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/221977-gop-chairman-google-supportive-of-controversial-cybersecurity-bill-cispa
This space for rent.
Just saying, "this is an assault on privacy and should be rejected" is not very
Oh crap! Look everyone! He got cut off by CISPA!
" We hope the Senate takes the time to fully and openly consider these issues with stakeholder input before moving forward with this legislation."
Unsurprisingly the main stakeholder, the one who would be most affected by this legislation is never consulted.
"Wait. Something's happening. It's opening up! My God, it's full of apricots!"
Thank goodness a corporation finally spoke up against this bill! I mean sure, all those citizens did too, but they're just people and that's not how we do things in America.
The powers-that-be seem to have a set plan for the internet: To control everything that can be controlled, and to shut down/filter out anything that can't. It doesn't matter what the bill is called: SOPA. PIPA. CISPA. They could call it FIRECRACKER and it wouldn't matter. ---- They will keep coming back, and coming back, and coming back with the same control-the-internet-horseshit under a different name, until the desired deed is done: All user data surveilled & catalogued. All internet piracy rubbed out. All offending sites closed down. Maybe even a "War on Internet Conspiracy Theories" needs to be fought, so everyone winds up believing the - often terribly contrived - official accounts of the history we are currently living through, and the events that are shaping the world. ---- Perhaps the powers-that-be (PTB) had this plan for the Internet all along: Don't do anything to regulate it in the beginning, so it becomes a free space where anything goes, and one that grows fast and thrives. But once it has "matured" - with over say 3 Billion people online - that's when you want to regulate the fuck out of it, and turn it into something that doesn't question corporate and government, but rather bends over backwards to it. ---------- Take it from me, these powerful people follow a set agenda, and that agenda say "The Internet must be brought under control". What does it matter that CISPA passes or not. They will wait 3 months and push another bill with the same content through. ----------- It was nice knowing you, Free Internet. Too bad that future generations will never experience you, because the only Internet they know will be a bound, gagged, homogenized and filtered Internet. Farewell, old friend. You served humanity, and served it well. Too bad that the PTB don't want you to stay this way. And too bad that they are ignorant enough to want to destroy everything that made the internet useful and interesting.
Why did the chicken cross the road? Because Elon Musk put an AI chip in its head.
We should be as eager not to give them any more money, too, whenever we can.
And yet millions of people will go to see movies like Dark Knight Rises and The Avengers this summer. Most of them will probably never even consider that every penny they spend on those tickets will find its way into a Congressman's pocket in order to push through the next SOPA/PIPA/CISPA bill or ACTA/TPP trade agreement.
>>> turn it into something that doesn't question corporate and government
They can't take away our first amendment right to speak & publish our thoughts. And if they manage to succeed..... well we still have the second.
My AC stalker: " I personally agree with your posts most of the time, but that won't keep me from modding you troll"
I finally got up the courage to try taking a look at the actual bill; fortunately it's not very long, and isn't too dense, but may leave a few loopholes that could be of concern. A few thoughts:
In Sec. 2(b)(1):
`(B) SELF-PROTECTED ENTITIES- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a self-protected entity may, for cybersecurity purposes--
`(i) use cybersecurity systems to identify and obtain cyber threat information to protect the rights and property of such self-protected entity; and
`(ii) share such cyber threat information with any other entity, including the Federal Government.
Sounds like individuals are at least allowed to own/use security systems/software for protection and testing of their own network, so no reduction to rights in that regard.
In Sec. 2(b)(3): Cyber threat information shared in accordance with paragraph (1)--
`(A) shall only be shared in accordance with any restrictions placed on the sharing of such information by the protected entity or self-protected entity authorizing such sharing, including appropriate anonymization or minimization of such information;
Any information shared by an entity must be treated in accordance to the desires of that entity; so a lot of the privacy issues fall to the sharing entity itself for protection. Possible loop-hole here: what happens if information is not well-protected by a sharing agency? Does this give the government open reign on information if it's not explicitly forbidden them? Or worse, the final part of this section states:
In Sec. 2(b)(3): Cyber threat information shared in accordance with paragraph (1)--
`(D) shall be exempt from disclosure under a State, local, or tribal law or regulation that requires public disclosure of information by a public or quasi-public entity.
If a business chooses to share personal information about customers, there is no way for customers to find out or be aware it is happening. I'm sure there are good reasons to put an exemption like this in the bill, but the lack of explicit protection to the individual customers and citizens is glaring.
As for the limits on what can be done with the information:
Sec 2(c):
`(2) AFFIRMATIVE SEARCH RESTRICTION- The Federal Government may not affirmatively search cyber threat information shared with the Federal Government under subsection (b) for a purpose other than a purpose referred to in paragraph (1)(B).
I'm not familiar with the legal-speak here; what is meant by "affirmatively" searching?
There are some good things I found too. The remainder of Sec 2 is a good start, but it's hard to know if it is sufficient protection for individual rights and privacy or not. Overall, I'm really not sure how I feel about this bill. I don't see anything obvious that tells me its a bad idea, but I don't fully understand all of the nuances of what could happen with it. It seems any government that wants to exploit its citizens will do so, regardless of the legal code, so I'm not sure how this bill would make that kind of abuse any more likely.
Don't feel too bad.
They can regulate wired connections to a point. Obviously, because it takes major corporations to own and operate those physical connections .
When the Internet becomes so un-free that everyday people begin seeking an alternative, one will be found. Have people stopped smoking weed because it is illegal? No. Stopped speeding? No. Will they stop enjoying a free Internet because it becomes illegal? Hell no.
You can design an infrastructure to be anonymous and private from the very beginning, and we are starting to do this on many fronts. While there have been some fights against such infrastructures with moderate successes, it has been against a fledgling infrastructure with pitiful participation by everyday people.
Look at TBP, Kazaa, Limewire for example. People have demonstrated that they will find a way to engage in the behavior they wish to engage in. Period. You have an entire generation growing up that started with a free Internet, and a generation behind that created it. Neither will sit back and accept destruction.
Those are the kiddie pool versions. Darknets and Mesh Networking can usher in a new age where shutting down dissenting opinion and punishing people will actually require roving vans triangulating signals like in Pump Up The Volume.
The PTB has just started, but so have we. The war has not even begun yet and you are throwing in the towel. Don't be that guy man. Hack the Planet! :)
Why, when so many tech companies were opposed to SOPA, are they behind CISPA? What benefit are they now being offered that they weren't before?
SOPA required tech companies to spend money and allocate resources toward something that did not benefit them. CISPA gives the tech companies unrestrained ability to profit from selling what was previously considered your private data. As a bonus, the law provides them immunity from lawsuits, so no matter what they do with the data, lawful or not, they cannot be held accountable.
Let your Senators and congressman know your feeling on this issue. Only through a widespread outcry will the legislators understand that our freedoms and privacy (which is a cornerstone of freedom) is dear and we understand the implication of this legislation. Given the track record of say Bush in office who directed the Justice Department to try and bring cases against Democratic Legislators (so much so that several quit, others fired), we can't trust the government to always act in our best interest (mostly but not always). Once a privacy is pried open, its hard to get the sardine can closed again.
(Bitter)
Of course they can.
You seem to think the Constitution means something.
However Corporations now have Sudo powers over the Constitution.
(/Bitter)
My first Journal Entry ever, in 8 years! http://slashdot.org/journal/365947/aphelion-scifi-fantasy-horror-poetry-webzine
Microsoft pulled their support a little bit ago.
http://yro.slashdot.org/story/12/04/28/1549251/microsoft-backs-away-from-cispa-support-citing-privacy
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