President to be given power to shut off internet

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OMGOMGOMG, they're gonna take alla my p0rnz! Alex JONES said so!

Good lord.

We've got a draft of a bill, which hasn't even received a number yet. Furthermore, this looks suspiciously like last year's S. 773.

And how well did S. 773 do? Lookathat...it's been more than a year since that passed, and it's got four, count 'em, four co-sponsors. We call that "dead in the water."

Seriously people. This is like the constant recurrences of HR 45 all over again.
 
Why does the government need to have this potential power? The potential for abuse is staggering... I see this as a potential attack on the first ammendment.

Imagine a hypothetical similar situation with firearms in a given area being able to be banned on government demand for some "Emergency purpose" or "in the Interest of National Security"

Just as importantly why do we keep seeing this type of thinking coming from our representatives in DC? First it was health care, now business and next maybe the internet? Do you see a concerning trend, I do.

However anyone feels about any of these things or wherever we may stand on this issue or any of the others we need to remain informed and aware or our beloved 2nd Ammendment may well be on the list next.
 
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My bad, s.773 has been continued for 2010, but it isn't the one in the article.

OMGOMGOMG, they're gonna take alla my p0rnz! Alex JONES said so!

Good lord.

We've got a draft of a bill, which hasn't even received a number yet. Furthermore, this looks suspiciously like last year's S. 773.

And how well did S. 773 do? Lookathat...it's been more than a year since that passed, and it's got four, count 'em, four co-sponsors. We call that "dead in the water."

Seriously people. This is like the constant recurrences of HR 45 all over again.
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Thanks for the snarkyness, Tom, you're a real "gentleman". Maybe it's the p0rnz?
 
I haven't read the details of the bill, but my general thought is that like it or not, the internet has become part of our national infrastructure, much like the power grid, roads, water supplies, etcetera.

In the case of a cyberattack such as a DDOS (Distributed Denial of Service), I feel that the government needs the authority to shut down certain nodes/paths in order to preserve the usability of the internet as a whole. There's a lot of critical communication that takes place over chat, VOIP and similar channels, especially if we lose landline telephone services and/or cell services.
 
OMGOMGOMG, they're gonna take alla my p0rnz! Alex JONES said so!

Good lord.

We've got a draft of a bill, which hasn't even received a number yet. Furthermore, this looks suspiciously like last year's S. 773.

And how well did S. 773 do? Lookathat...it's been more than a year since that passed, and it's got four, count 'em, four co-sponsors. We call that "dead in the water."

Seriously people. This is like the constant recurrences of HR 45 all over again.
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The bill regardless of its current state is indicative of the thinking of one or more members of our elected representives thinking. People are creatures of habit and Im sure we will see this again at one point or another.

The scary part is this is the type of thinking going on in DC? The other scary part is how many good and intelligent people seem to think all these things are of so little importance.

Can't ever happen can it? How many good, honest, intelligent and hard working people said this too themselves in the 1930s and what was the consequence of saying it can't happen. Rights were crushed and a good portion of humanity suffered, some most horribly.

I could list probably a dozen similar happenings in history.

A little less rights concerning this and a little less rights concerning and the next thing you wake up and maybe stare a monster of your own making in the face.

Even the best of intended policys can go bad.
 
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Its not necessary fo the government to have this power under law. It is in the interest of the agencies and business within the US to disconnect portions of the internet in the event of some major cyber attack, they do not need a law passed in order to do so.

I could see the government setting up some plan with the agencies and business involved, but the legal authority should remain with the people who own the backbone of the internet.

Its like your cars on fire but you have to wait for someone else to come to allow you to squirt water out of your garden hose.
 
Thanks for the snarkyness, Tom, you're a real "gentleman". Maybe it's the p0rnz?
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Nope. If I thought this had a chance at passing, I'd be worried. The problem is that this was a slow news week for Alex Jones, so he dredged this up to generate attention. A great many of people are going to waste a great deal of energy getting worked up over something that's highly unlikely to gain any traction.

Frankly, there's some stuff in there that gives me real pause. There are some serious 4th Amendment issues, such as this gem in Section 11:
(4) How to guarantee the privacy of an individual’s identity, information, or lawful transactions when stored in distributed systems or transmitted over networks.

(…)

(6) How to determine the origin of a message transmitted over the Internet.
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However, in the absence of any real support, I'm not going to lose any sleep over this.
 
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