The Internet, as it stands today, is a vast and open worldwide community and has revolutionized human interaction and the world as a whole.
This fantastic technological innovation has made so much possible and has historically stood as a realm in which freedom of sharing information, ideas and concepts was prevalent.
There are countries throughout the world that are frightened of what this freedom can offer its citizens and, thus, they attempt to censor and limit the Internet. As of yet, the United States has not joined the ranks of countries, such as China, who participate in such programs.
Yet, as the American people saw with the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in January, there are those in power who believe restriction of the online realm will be beneficial to our country.
Public outcry, particularly from high-profile Internet players such as Google, Wikipedia and Reddit, as well as citizens throughout the nation, saw to an indefinite postponing of SOPA. Now, however, another bill threatens the freedoms the Internet provides for people throughout the globe. The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) is the latest, and greatest, in legislation designed to harness and constrain the power and relevance of online interaction.
CISPA, though not expressly allowing censorship, attacks the Internet in a unique way. The bill gives Internet Service Providers (ISPs) the power to collect information about its users.
This information, in turn, is encouraged to be shared with the government, or other entities, if a “cyber threat” is perceived. This concept of a “cyber threat” is overly vague and leaves a wide berth for interpretation, which does not bode well for citizens.
Under CISPA, any information gathered by these ISPs is proprietary, meaning that a person cannot know what is reported about them.
The bill, then, exists in a state where companies do not have to participate with the new guidelines put forth by CISPA, but realistically many will be at the bequest of larger companies worried about the threats international hackers and foreign governments present to business.
Furthermore, the bill prevents any citizen from taking legal action if there are any repercussions from having their data reported. Essentially, this removes the right of a citizen to sue an ISP if the data shared causes any problems in their home, their place of work, or any other aspect of their life. This is where SOPA and CISPA differ.
While SOPA targeted the freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment, CISPA attacks those guaranteed in the Fourth Amendment: that regarding unlawful search and seizure.
Though opponents of the bill exist, such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Center for Democracy and Technology and the Constitution Project, even larger more influential supporters exist. Among their ranks are AT&T, Facebook, IBM, Intel, Microsoft and Verizon.
Support from such major players lends credence to the bill and, to some, may project the idea that no response to CISPA is necessary. This mentality, however, could not be further from the truth. Action, like that taken with SOPA, becomes increasingly imperative as time goes by.
The House of Representatives is set to vote on CISPA on April 23, which leaves the American people ample time to express their outrage. This is the time to sign online petitions, post to Facebook, Twitter and all manner of social networking sites.
Though the postponement of SOPA was, truly, a great victory for the Internet and the citizens of the United States, the fight for online freedom still rages onward. CISPA is yet another battle that must be fought, and won, if Americans can ever hope to retain their online freedoms.
