Yikes. This news story reports the unconscionable! Some goofy politicians want to be able to “shut down” the Internet when they declare an “state of emergency”! Outrageous!
A recently proposed but little-noticed Senate bill would allow the federal government to shut down the Internet in times of declared emergency, and enables unprecedented federal oversight of private network administration.
The bill’s draft states that “the president may order a cybersecurity emergency and order the limitation or shutdown of Internet traffic” and would give the government ongoing access to “all relevant data concerning (critical infrastructure) networks without regard to any provision of law, regulation, rule, or policy restricting such access.”
This is basically a suspension of the freedom of speech, or something?? Hello– the Internet is much more than a bastion of YouTube videos and diet pill reviews!! For a lot of us, the Internet is our way of communicating with the world! In a time of emergency, we need the Internet all the more! Why is it merely the Net being shut down, and not the ridiculous TV “news” shows, huh?
It seems to me that the purpose of this bill is to silence the little guy… I have yet to find out if this bill passed. If anyone knows about this, please leave a comment.
May 12, 2009
crime, Internet, news