Today we're launching a weeklong campaign called "Stop Cyber Spying Week" to draw attention to the massive civil liberties problems in H.R. 3523, better known as CISPA.
By Sandra Fulton, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 10:18am
Monday's House hearing on TSA security measures examined whether airport security measures have been truly effective at preventing terrorism, or just create an illusion of safety.
By Chris Anders, Senior Legislative Counsel, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 6:39pm
At today's NDAA hearing, torture memo author Steven Bradbury will advise the Senate not to block the use of the NDAA indefinite detention powers in the United States itself.
By Michelle Richardson, Legislative Counsel, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 7:44pm
Today, the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs committee held a hearing on S. 2105, the Cybersecurity Act of 2012, sponsored by Sens. Lieberman, Collins, Rockefeller and Feinstein. Introduced earlier this week, this bill delivers the comprehensive reform that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and the Senate Democrats have been promising since last summer. We will blog a more thorough analysis tomorrow, but short story is that the bill is a mixed bag for civil liberties. The good news is that the bill does not include a kill switch; the bad is that it permits companies to share American internet use data with military agencies like the NSA. So color us shocked that Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said on the hearing record that the ACLU thinks the bill is "very, very good." Chocolate ice cream is very, very good. The complex, 205-page, ground-breaking rewrite of existing law — well, needs a few changes to really protect privacy. Check back soon for more information.
By Sandra Fulton, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 4:58pm
It's tricky monitoring public information online, especially if you're the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Having the government turn a blind eye to information that anyone can read seems strange, yet the practice raises significant questions. Apparently the House Homeland Security Committee feels the same way — that's why it's holding a hearing tomorrow on the Department of Homeland Security's monitoring of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.
By Michelle Richardson, Legislative Counsel, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 5:06pm
Wednesday, the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Cybersecurity passed a bill that will permit greater information sharing for cybersecurity efforts. Called the PRECISE Act, the bill as reported out of the subcommittee, will create an exception to privacy laws so that companies who hold Internet use information (like your browsing history or IP address) can share it in the name of protecting cybersecurity. This would be facilitated by a new public-private entity created to receive, process and distribute the data back out to companies and government agencies who would theoretically use it to protect their own networks.
