The federal government would like to have absolute power to shut down the Internet in the name of "Homeland Security". The government has been pushing for years regulation of the Internet under the guise of cyber security leaving Internet companies and civil liberties groups alarmed,this bill could be use to silence free speech under the pretext of a national emergency.
The legislation states that all companies such as broadband providers, search engines or software firms selected by our government shall immediately comply with any emergency measure or action developed by the Department of Homeland Security, failure to comply would result in a fine. This 197 page bill entitled Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act, or PCNAA is being pushed by United States Senator of Connecticut Joseph Lieberman.
This legislation proposed on April 1 is not to be taken lightly,the bill was introduced by Senator of West Virgnia John Rockefeller and Senator of Maine Olympia Snowe.The aim of the bill is to unite both public and private network operators to develop regulations for what to do in case of a "cyber attack".
For obvious reasons many are concerned about what this power could mean if the wrong actions were taken in the name of "Homeland Security",
To stop this legislation from being passed 100,000 signatures need to be collected.
Excerpt from the bill http://www.politechbot.com/docs/rockefeller.revised.cybersecurity.draft.082709.pdf
