White House opposes CISPA, wants privacy protections
updated 10:45 am EDT, Wed April 18, 2012
White House NSC speaks out against CISPA
An Obama administration official has voiced concerns over the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, which is scheduled for a House of Representatives vote next week. In a statement to The Hill, National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden noted that such legislation must protect privacy while providing security provisions for critical infrastructure systems.
"The nation's critical infrastructure cyber vulnerabilities will not be addressed by information sharing alone," said the NSC spokeswoman, continuing "Also, while information sharing legislation is an essential component of comprehensive legislation to address critical infrastructure risks, information sharing provisions must include robust safeguards to preserve the privacy and civil liberties of our citizens. Legislation without new authorities to address our nation’s critical infrastructure vulnerabilities, or legislation that would sacrifice the privacy of our citizens in the name of security, will not meet our nation's urgent needs."
This follows the EFF and other groups campaigning online against CISPA, and the White House's NSC endorsing a different, more regulatory based proposal known as the Lieberman/Collins/Rockefeller/Feinstein cybersecurity bill, which has also been attacked for its use of broad language.
Critics suggest that, if passed, the legislation will allow companies to share private information with other companies and the federal government, even if such actions violate existing laws, such as wiretap regulations, at the state and federal level.
An Avaaz petition to stop CISPA has over 677,000 signatures at the time of publication. [via CNET]
