A comprehensive cybersecurity bill introduced Tuesday abandons proposals that would give the president emergency powers over the nation’s networks.
“The nation responded after 9/11 to improve its security. Now we must respond to this challenge so that a cyber 9/11 attack on America never happens,” said Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.).
Public apprehension about the possibility of handing the White House a “kill switch” for the Internet has dogged the cybersecurity debate, fueled by a proposal that would have codified emergency powers for the president in the event of a catastrophic attack.
The Obama administration has indicated it already has the authority to intervene in the event of a major attack on the nation’s networks, pointing to a little-known provision in Communications Act passed a month after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
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2 Responses
I don’t trust this socialist president for a second. Its bad enough he is abusing his powers with laws our CONSTITUTION didn’t give him.
He MUST be voted out!
Mark: nothing really new here. The internet “kill switch” was discussed years ago under the Bush administration. If Obama doesn’t get these powers *from Congress*, the next President will: cyber-security is a big issue.