-
Bill gives Obama power to shut down Internet
I eagerly await the cries of outrage from liberal free-speech advocates (the same ones who attacked George Bush over the Patriot Act) ...
New Bill Gives Obama ‘Kill Switch’ To Shut Down The Internet
Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
The federal government would have “absolute power” to shut down the Internet under the terms of a new US Senate bill being pushed by Joe Lieberman, legislation which would hand President Obama a figurative “kill switch” to seize control of the world wide web in response to a Homeland Security directive.
Lieberman has been pushing for government regulation of the Internet for years under the guise of cybersecurity, but this new bill goes even further in handing emergency powers over to the feds which could be used to silence free speech under the pretext of a national emergency.
“The legislation says that companies such as broadband providers, search engines or software firms that the US 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,” reports ZDNet’s Declan McCullagh.
The 197-page bill is entitled Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act, or PCNAA.
Technology lobbying group TechAmerica warned that the legislation created “the potential for absolute power,” while the Center for Democracy and Technology worried that the bill’s emergency powers “include authority to shut down or limit internet traffic on private systems.”
The bill has the vehement support of Senator Jay Rockefeller, who last year asked during a congressional hearing, “Would it had been better if we’d have never invented the Internet?” while fearmongering about cyber-terrorists preparing attacks.
The largest Internet-based corporations are seemingly happy with the bill, primarily because it contains language that will give them immunity from civil lawsuits and also reimburse them for any costs incurred if the Internet is shut down for a period of time.
“If there’s an “incident related to a cyber vulnerability” after the President has declared an emergency and the affected company has followed federal standards, plaintiffs’ lawyers cannot collect damages for economic harm. And if the harm is caused by an emergency order from the Feds, not only does the possibility of damages virtually disappear, but the US Treasury will even pick up the private company’s tab,” writes McCullagh.
Tom Gann, McAfee’s vice president for government relations, described the bill as a “very important piece of legislation”.
As we have repeatedly warned for years, the federal government is desperate to seize control of the Internet because the establishment is petrified at the fact that alternative and independent media outlets are now eclipsing corporate media outlets in terms of audience share, trust, and influence.
We witnessed another example of this on Monday when establishment Congressman Bob Etheridge was publicly shamed after he was shown on video assaulting two college students who asked him a question. Two kids with a flip cam and a You Tube account could very well have changed the course of a state election, another startling reminder of the power of the Internet and independent media, and why the establishment is desperate to take that power away.
The government has been searching for any avenue possible through which to regulate free speech on the Internet and strangle alternative media outlets, with the FTC recently proposing a “Drudge Tax” that would force independent media organizations to pay fees that would be used to fund mainstream newspapers.
Similar legislation aimed at imposing Chinese-style censorship of the Internet and giving the state the power to shut down networks has already been passed globally, including in the UK, New Zealand and Australia.
We have extensively covered efforts to scrap the internet as we know it and move toward a greatly restricted “internet 2″ system. Handing government the power to control the Internet would only be the first step towards this system, whereby individual ID’s and government permission would be required simply to operate a website.
The Lieberman bill needs to be met with fierce opposition at every level and from across the political spectrum. Regulation of the Internet would not only represent a massive assault on free speech, it would also create new roadblocks for e-commerce and as a consequence further devastate the economy.
http://www.prisonplanet.com/new-bill...-internet.html
-
Re: Bill gives Obama power to shut down Internet
-
Re: Bill gives Obama power to shut down Internet
Is that even possible? :noidea:
-
Re: Bill gives Obama power to shut down Internet
This does not surprise me in the least. The Internet is the last bastion of true freedom left in the world, so of course the government wants to control it. The next time some politician says they are about protecting our freedoms, they should be kicked right in the gonads. Because they've repeatedly shown that they are NOT. They are all about taking away as much freedom from the people as they can, while giving themselves more and more power.
-
Re: Bill gives Obama power to shut down Internet
Quote:
Originally Posted by
steeldevil
Is that even possible? :noidea:
No...not really. Not when there are hundreds of thousands of internet pirates out there who can hack nearly any business, site or government they wanted to.
-
Re: Bill gives Obama power to shut down Internet
Quote:
Originally Posted by
X-Terminator
This does not surprise me in the least. The Internet is the last bastion of true freedom left in the world, so of course the government wants to control it. The next time some politician says they are about protecting our freedoms, they should be kicked right in the gonads. Because they've repeatedly shown that they are NOT. They are all about taking away as much freedom from the people as they can, while giving themselves more and more power.
You couldn't be more correct. And Republicans are just as guilty as Democrats. Both parties have sold us out.
-
Re: Bill gives Obama power to shut down Internet
Quote:
Originally Posted by
steeldevil
Is that even possible? :noidea:
Its the same sort of thing as making guns illegal and confiscating them. Only the criminals would have guns.
There's not going to be a "kill switch". That would kill all communications including phones and TV.
'Sides... http://www.itproportal.com/portal/ne...#ixzz0r22DLgiS Way too much money at stake here. They'll fold that little stalinist tool up and, and... put him on a post.
5 more months and the post turtle will be a eunuched post turtle.
-
Re: Bill gives Obama power to shut down Internet
He did say in his speech that we should be more like China!
-
Re: Bill gives Obama power to shut down Internet
Quote:
Originally Posted by
steeldevil
Is that even possible? :noidea:
Theoretically, yes. Practically, no. The government could force service providers to give them the "keys" to their Internet backbones by threat of fines and whatnot, but "shutting down" the Internet would essentially shut down the economy as a whole at the same time. Business, commerce, communications and the Internet are all so intertwined at this point that such a move would be a disaster, and political suicide, for anyone to do so.
-
Re: Bill gives Obama power to shut down Internet
Quote:
Originally Posted by
fansince'76
Theoretically, yes. Practically, no. The government could force service providers to give them the "keys" to their Internet backbones by threat of fines and whatnot, but "shutting down" the Internet would essentially shut down the economy as a whole at the same time. Business, commerce, communications and the Internet are so intertwined at this point that such a move would be a disaster, and political suicide, for anyone to do so.
yea if the government does find a way to make this happen Obama will have a 0.000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 1% chance of being re-elected.
-
Re: Bill gives Obama power to shut down Internet
Quote:
Originally Posted by
fansince'76
Theoretically, yes. Practically, no. The government could force service providers to give them the "keys" to their Internet backbones by threat of fines and whatnot, but "shutting down" the Internet would essentially shut down the economy as a whole at the same time. Business, commerce, communications and the Internet are all so intertwined at this point that such a move would be a disaster, and political suicide, for anyone to do so.
I think the only reason they would shut it down is because of a cyber attack. But they're definitely looking for ways to control it. I don't think it's a coincidence we're seeing this bill at the same time they're talking about propping up newspapers. They can control mainstream media. And they need traditional media until they can get control of the Internet. (Was that a black helicopter I just saw fly overhead? :chuckle:)
-
Re: Bill gives Obama power to shut down Internet
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Wallace108
I think the only reason they would shut it down is because of a cyber attack.
Doubtful, since any cyber attack of that scope would manifest itself as a denial of service (DOS) attack, which would essentially achieve the same thing as the government "shutting the Internet down," so to speak. I honestly can't think of any sensible reason for the government to "kill" Internet communications on a widespread scale.
-
Re: Bill gives Obama power to shut down Internet
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Wallace108
You couldn't be more correct. And Republicans are just as guilty as Democrats. Both parties have sold us out.
yup if the reps were in control, the same thing would have happend
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_zcfn2lZIs
-
Re: Bill gives Obama power to shut down Internet
You can't kill the internet. It's almost impossible. Did you see Die Hard 4? You'd have to do something like that, but bigger, more effective, and global.
-
Re: Bill gives Obama power to shut down Internet
Quote:
Originally Posted by
The WH
You can't kill the internet. It's almost impossible. Did you see Die Hard 4? You'd have to do something like that, but bigger, more effective, and global.
Yes, we all know what you see in the movies is real, just like pro wrestlin.
-
Re: Bill gives Obama power to shut down Internet
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Mach1
Yes, we all know what you see in the movies is real, just like pro wrestlin.
It's about as real as being able to shutdown the freakin' internet.
Oh, BTW, on wrestling
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvTNyKIGXiI
-
Re: Bill gives Obama power to shut down Internet
Well, giving Obama MORE power is certainly always a really good idea...:sarcasm2:
-
Re: Bill gives Obama power to shut down Internet
-
Re: Bill gives Obama power to shut down Internet
The internet rocks ! I guess it can be used for both good and evil . Good and evil never got along , but they've been living side by side since the beginning . Never ending constant battle to prevail over the other . It's maddness i say !
-
Re: Bill gives Obama power to shut down Internet
Quote:
Originally Posted by
SteelCityMom
No...not really. Not when there are hundreds of thousands of internet pirates out there who can hack nearly any business, site or government they wanted to.
they only need one....the rat..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UKUGZz5Hjw
-
Re: Bill gives Obama power to shut down Internet
Also, I honestly thought that I was going to read that some dude named Bill was going to give Obama power over the internet. My first reaction was (before clicking) ''Who the hell is Bill and where does he get all this power?''
-
Re: Bill gives Obama power to shut down Internet
Isn't this exactly what China does? Control the Internet? What happen to Freedom?
-
Re: Bill gives Obama power to shut down Internet
Quote:
Originally Posted by
fansince'76
Doubtful, since any cyber attack of that scope would manifest itself as a denial of service (DOS) attack, which would essentially achieve the same thing as the government "shutting the Internet down," so to speak. I honestly can't think of any sensible reason for the government to "kill" Internet communications on a widespread scale.
I'm not sure what you mean by this. How are you defining cyber attack? If government computers are hacked into, this could constitute a cyber attack. What does it have to do with a DOS attack?
As far as a reason for the government to kill Internet communications on a widespread scale, what if a foreign entity, say China, launched a massive attack and breached hundreds or thousands of corporate and/or government sites? Would this give the government a reason to kill Internet communications?
-
Re: Bill gives Obama power to shut down Internet
Quote:
Originally Posted by
The WH
You can't kill the internet. It's almost impossible. Did you see Die Hard 4? You'd have to do something like that, but bigger, more effective, and global.
Why do you say it's almost impossible?
-
Re: Bill gives Obama power to shut down Internet
To kill the internet, globally? You tell me.
-
Re: Bill gives Obama power to shut down Internet
Quote:
Originally Posted by
The WH
To kill the internet, globally? You tell me.
I never said anything about a global shutdown. The bill is designed to protect U.S. communications systems. Other countries, not just China, already have similar powers. Though unlikely, it's certainly possible to shut down the Internet within a country.
Here's some info from cnet.com:
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.
And the Center for Democracy and Technology publicly worried that the Lieberman bill's emergency powers "include authority to shut down or limit Internet traffic on private systems."
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-20007418-38.html
We can debate whether it WOULD happen, but I think it's apparent that it CAN happen.
-
Re: Bill gives Obama power to shut down Internet
I thought it was a joke meaning Bill Gates gave him power...
The only real way to shut down the internet is to shutdown all the companies that provide internet access. Otherwise you just twisting in the wind.
it is akin to shutting down all electricity. Can it be done? Sure. But you'd have to have all the providers of electricity on board.
The internet, in it's simplest of terms, is just a bunch of computers connected together. You have relay points all through the country/world. When a relay point goes down, the "signal" would simply find another path. This is called traceroute.
Again, the only effective way to shut down the internet is if EVERYONE was on board. What are the odds on that?
-
Re: Bill gives Obama power to shut down Internet
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Wallace108
I never said anything about a global shutdown. The bill is designed to protect U.S. communications systems. Other countries, not just China, already have similar powers. Though unlikely, it's certainly possible to shut down the Internet within a country.
Here's some info from cnet.com:
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.
And the Center for Democracy and Technology publicly worried that the Lieberman bill's emergency powers "include authority to shut down or limit Internet traffic on private systems."
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-20007418-38.html
We can debate whether it WOULD happen, but I think it's apparent that it CAN happen.
Sure, we can debate semantics all night long, but it's near impossible to shut down The Internet. By cutting off the internet in the States, you're doing just that, cutting off the internet in the US, you're not ''shutting down the internet''
-
Re: Bill gives Obama power to shut down Internet
Didn't Iran shut down its internet then claim it didn't slaughter 1000s of people during an uprising?
First, don't allow the footage out, then you can kill whoever you want.
Cold Dead Hands Fed...come and get them.
-
Re: Bill gives Obama power to shut down Internet
Quote:
Originally Posted by
BnG_Hevn
The only real way to shut down the internet is to shutdown all the companies that provide internet access. Otherwise you just twisting in the wind.
it is akin to shutting down all electricity. Can it be done? Sure. But you'd have to have all the providers of electricity on board.
That's exactly what the bill would give the president the power to do ... order companies to shut off access.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
The WH
Sure, we can debate semantics all night long, but it's near impossible to shut down The Internet. By cutting off the internet in the States, you're doing just that, cutting off the internet in the US, you're not ''shutting down the internet''
Again, we're not talking about a global shutdown. We're talking about the U.S. president having the power to tell U.S. companies to shut down access, whether it's to a single website or a mass shutdown. No one is talking about global access to the Internet.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Dino 6 Rings
Didn't Iran shut down its internet then claim it didn't slaughter 1000s of people during an uprising?
First, don't allow the footage out, then you can kill whoever you want.
Cold Dead Hands Fed...come and get them.
I'm not sure about shutting it down, but Iran definitely censors the Internet. China and other countries do the same. Pakistan recently blocked access to Facebook because of a group that poked fun of the Prophet Muhammad. Regardless of the ability to "shut down" the Internet, this bill would give the president the power to censor it. Is that likely? Therein lies the debate ...
-
Re: Bill gives Obama power to shut down Internet
Still, the idea of the US President being able to shut down the Local United States internet in the time of an emergency is a scary proposition.
So if the cops roll into the LA riots after the Lakers win and start blasting people with guns, that could be considered "emergency" and the internet in California can be "shut down". That is something I'm not comfortable with at all. The Internet is a very Freeing Tool for the Citizens of a nation. It allows us to have dialog, communicate on a mass scale and Whistleblow. Word of mouth is great, and the news organizations on the ground could still send their videos out over the airwaves, unless of coarse they are doing it via Wi Fi. That would be shut down. So then we'd have to go all Old School to get the word out.
The censorship in regards to the oil spill is already rather disheartening. Reported today the first dead whale found. I want pictures, I want to see the carnage that BP caused by Violating Federal Drilling Regulations. I want to see the mess that is being caused by the lack of quicker action by the Feds and the US Coast Guard and Navy. We as a nation need to see first hand the ineptness that our Federal Government has shown in this dire ecological disaster.
-
Re: Bill gives Obama power to shut down Internet
Quote:
Originally Posted by
stlrtruck
Isn't this exactly what China does? Control the Internet? What happen to Freedom?
The same thing that happened to Hopey and Changey. :jerkit:
http://theforceofreason.com/wp-conte...t1-500x375.jpg
-
Re: Bill gives Obama power to shut down Internet
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Dino 6 Rings
Still, the idea of the US President being able to shut down the Local United States internet in the time of an emergency is a scary proposition.
So if the cops roll into the LA riots after the Lakers win and start blasting people with guns, that could be considered "emergency" and the internet in California can be "shut down". That is something I'm not comfortable with at all. The Internet is a very Freeing Tool for the Citizens of a nation. It allows us to have dialog, communicate on a mass scale and Whistleblow. Word of mouth is great, and the news organizations on the ground could still send their videos out over the airwaves, unless of coarse they are doing it via Wi Fi. That would be shut down. So then we'd have to go all Old School to get the word out.
The censorship in regards to the oil spill is already rather disheartening. Reported today the first dead whale found. I want pictures, I want to see the carnage that BP caused by Violating Federal Drilling Regulations. I want to see the mess that is being caused by the lack of quicker action by the Feds and the US Coast Guard and Navy. We as a nation need to see first hand the ineptness that our Federal Government has shown in this dire ecological disaster.
I think that's the real fear, Dino. Just as we've seen other countries block or limit access to the Internet, I don't think it's a good idea for our president to have the same power.
-
Re: Bill gives Obama power to shut down Internet
I hope he doesn't confuse this new button with the one that launches our nuclear arsenal.
The angle behind the bill is to reduce the logistics involved if/when we have another 911. Not to keep us from looking at titties. Terrorists use cell phones and the internet to communicate. Reducing the chain of command and time to shut it all down would give us an advantage with our backup system and also reduce the worst-case scenrio in a sneak attack.
-
Re: Bill gives Obama power to shut down Internet
Quote:
Originally Posted by
HometownGal
if you don't think this idea wasn't already on the GOP to do list, your wrong. newt gingrich has already kicked this idea around in public long ago ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_zcfn2lZIs
-
Re: Bill gives Obama power to shut down Internet
It wasn't a good idea back then because a Republican thought of it and would be incontrol. Now we have a democrat spinning the idea without giving credit to where it originated from. You think if the bill's sponsor mentioned where the idea came from it would have some effect??...maybe not because some groups would justify that a Democrat would be in control, so everything will be alright...
-
Re: Bill gives Obama power to shut down Internet
Quote:
Originally Posted by
ALLD
It wasn't a good idea back then because a Republican thought of it and would be incontrol. Now we have a democrat spinning the idea without giving credit to where it originated from. You think if the bill's sponsor mentioned where the idea came from it would have some effect??...maybe not because some groups would justify that a Democrat would be in control, so everything will be alright...
I remember when Obama was campaigning, he spoke out against the Patriot Act. But as soon as he became president, one of the first things he did was reauthorize the Patriot Act. I can't imagine the outrage if the Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act was passed while Bush was president!! Every liberal group would be screaming for Bush's head. I think MOP is right on target when he said, more or less, that both Republicans and Democrats wanted this kind of power. But since the Democrats are in control, few people, especially the mainstream media, are questioning it.
-
Re: Bill gives Obama power to shut down Internet
I'm on the fence about this I guess...though I still stand firm that there are plenty of hackers in this country who would still have internet access despite a nation-wide "shut-down".
On one hand, I understand the government wanting to be able to do this. There are a lot of ways to attack a country and its people, and one of them is through a computer.
On the other hand, I agree with many others who think this gives the government way too much power. Kind of a double edged sword.
The internet is a great thing, and a dangerous thing.
-
Re: Bill gives Obama power to shut down Internet
For some reason a quote popped into my head.
A people that will trade freedom for security will often end with neither one.
I believe it was Ben Franklin, or possibly Thomas Jefferson.
-
Re: Bill gives Obama power to shut down Internet
Quote:
Originally Posted by
MasterOfPuppets
if you don't think this idea wasn't already on the GOP to do list, your wrong. newt gingrich has already kicked this idea around in public long ago ...
Well - Newt is a kookbag so I really don't take much of what he says seriously. :der:
This latest "revelation" doesn't surprise me in the least, as I think Obaaaaaaaaaaaama has more than proven that he is out of his league and is feeling around in the dark for something - anything - to save face no matter how outlandish or insane it may be or how much the people oppose it.
ONE AND DONE.
