As Egypt Goes Offline US Gets Internet 'Kill Switch' Bill Ready -- Sydney Morning Herald
As Egypt's government attempts to crackdown on street protests by shutting down internet and mobile phone services, the US is preparing to reintroduce a bill that could be used to shut down the internet.
The legislation, which would grant US President Barack Obama powers to seize control of and even shut down the internet, would soon be reintroduced to a senate committee, Wired.com reported.
It was initially introduced last year but expired with a new Congress.
Read more ....My Comment: I guess the proponents for this legislation in the Senate and the White House believe that one day unrest and riots will sweep the U.S., and the government will need to have legislation in place to validate an internet shutdown.
A very uncomfortable thought .... especially when you realize that this is how our government thinks .... that the people are the threat to the nation, and not the government itself.
3 comments:
This is truly disturbing. Another item the media is not disseminating out to its customers. What a shame.
Thanks Aho for your comment. I have been doing some more thinking on this subject .... and I can also see another reason why the government wants a kill switch.
With so much of our infrastructure now tied into the web, the possibility of hackers, organized cyber attacks from hostile nations, etc. .... the damage that can be done can be catastrophic .... hence having a kill switch before it gets out of hand.
Still .... I think the main reason why the government wants a kill switch is to control information .... and if there ever is a huge groundswell of protest and unrest from the American people on one issue or another .... a kill switch is something that our "elected" representatives would certainly love to have.
Interesting. I agree with you that we need to be careful with our infrastructure but I believe that it is going to turn into another bureaucracy. The "Internet Advisory Council" or something of that nature. And then the internet will never be a right but a privilege. It will be controlled just as our "right to arms" are.
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