[#StopCISA] Congress snuck a surveillance bill into the federal budget last night

[Mach]

Corporatism

https://www.yahoo.com/tech/congress-snuck-surveillance-bill-federal-155155893.html

After more than a year of stalemate, Congress has used an unconventional procedural measure to bring a controversial cybersurveillance bill to the floor. Late last night, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI) announced a 2,000-page omnibus budget bill, a last-minute compromise necessary to prevent a government shutdown. But while the bulk of the bill concerns taxes and spending, it contains a surprise 1,729 pages in: the full text of the controversial Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015, which passed the Senate in October.

CISA has been widely criticized since it was first introduced to congress in 2014, with Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) calling it "a surveillance bill by another name." The bill would make it easier for private sector companies to share user information with the government and other companies, removing privacy and liability protections in the name of better cybersecurity. But critics like Wyden say removing those protections would turn internet backbone companies into de facto surveillance organs, with no incentive to protect users' privacy.

"A disingenuous attempt to quietly expand the US government’s surveillance programs."

In many ways, the bill currently facing the House is even more invasive than previous versions, stripping out crucial provisions that prevented direct information-sharing with the NSA and mandated that data be anonymized before being widely distributed. "It’s clear now that this bill was never intended to prevent cyber attacks," said Evan Greer, campaign director of Fight for the Future, which has campaigned vigorously against the bill. "It’s a disingenuous attempt to quietly expand the US government’s surveillance programs." At the same time, a number of industry groups have applauded the bill, including the Financial Services Roundtable and Retail Industry Leaders Association.

Last night's proposal means CISA is more likely than ever to become law. While the bill is controversial in technology circles, it's far less controversial among legislators than the larger spending issues hammered out in the new budget proposal. The chance of another government shutdown has only increased the sense of urgency, and many observers expect the bill to pass some time this week, with little to no attention paid to the cybersecurity provisions.

[Mod Edit]:


Your calls are making a difference. #Omnibus is losing votes fast. Keep it up! (202) 224-3121. #protectprivacy #StopOmnibus #StopCISA (https://twitter.com/justinamash/status/677531337574785024)

677531337574785024

4683

[ZENemy]

This is exactly why playing "fair" against an evil entity that plays by its own rules will NEVER fix anything.

[Dianne]

Corporatism


https://www.yahoo.com/tech/congress-snuck-surveillance-bill-federal-155155893.html

After more than a year of stalemate, Congress has used an unconventional procedural measure to bring a controversial cybersurveillance bill to the floor. Late last night, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI) announced a 2,000-page omnibus budget bill, a last-minute compromise necessary to prevent a government shutdown. But while the bulk of the bill concerns taxes and spending, it contains a surprise 1,729 pages in: the full text of the controversial Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015, which passed the Senate in October.

CISA has been widely criticized since it was first introduced to congress in 2014, with Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) calling it "a surveillance bill by another name." The bill would make it easier for private sector companies to share user information with the government and other companies, removing privacy and liability protections in the name of better cybersecurity. But critics like Wyden say removing those protections would turn internet backbone companies into de facto surveillance organs, with no incentive to protect users' privacy.

"A disingenuous attempt to quietly expand the US government’s surveillance programs."

In many ways, the bill currently facing the House is even more invasive than previous versions, stripping out crucial provisions that prevented direct information-sharing with the NSA and mandated that data be anonymized before being widely distributed. "It’s clear now that this bill was never intended to prevent cyber attacks," said Evan Greer, campaign director of Fight for the Future, which has campaigned vigorously against the bill. "It’s a disingenuous attempt to quietly expand the US government’s surveillance programs." At the same time, a number of industry groups have applauded the bill, including the Financial Services Roundtable and Retail Industry Leaders Association.

Last night's proposal means CISA is more likely than ever to become law. While the bill is controversial in technology circles, it's far less controversial among legislators than the larger spending issues hammered out in the new budget proposal. The chance of another government shutdown has only increased the sense of urgency, and many observers expect the bill to pass some time this week, with little to no attention paid to the cybersecurity provisions.

I knew Paul Ryan was every bit as bad, if not worse than Boehner. What a low life scumbag.

[Brian4Liberty]

Paul Ryan, what a change. :rolleyes:

[TheTexan]

Paul Ryan, what a change. :rolleyes:

He's the Republican party's conservative darling, a rising star of limited government

[invisible]

Have Massie and Amash called for ryan's immediate removal yet? This crap needs to immediately called out as the reason why boner was jettisoned in the first place, and that it won't be tolerated.

[bandwidth]

Reminds me why the Read the Bills legislation is so important! https://randpaul.com/f/read_the_bills_petition?sr=rhf061115d

[DamianTV]

http://yro.slashdot.org/story/15/12/16/1844217/cisa-surveillance-bill-hidden-inside-last-nights-budget-bill


An anonymous reader writes that the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) was inserted into the omnibus budget deal passed by the House of Representatives late last night. Engadget reports: "Last night's budget bill wasn't all about avoiding a government shutdown. Packed inside the 2,000-page bill announced by Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) is the full text of the controversial Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) of 2015. If you'll recall, the measure passed the Senate back in October, leaving it up to the House to approve the bill that encourages businesses to share details of security breaches and cyber attacks. Despite being labeled as cybersecurity legislation, critics of CISA argue that it's a surveillance bill that would allow companies to share user info with the US government and other businesses. As TechDirt points out, this version of the bill stripped important protections that would've prevented directly sharing details with the NSA and required any personally identifying details to be removed before being shared. It also removes restrictions on how the government can use the data."

Sig.

[CPUd]

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?486807-Congress-snuck-a-surveillance-bill-into-the-federal-budget-last-night

[DamianTV]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/12/16/congress_strips_out_privacy_protections_from_cisa_ security_bill/


The little-loved Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) will likely become law this week, and in a form far worse than first thought.

After passing the House of Representatives and the Senate, CISA has been marked up in congressional sessions in a way that has removed most of its privacy protections. CISA has also been tacked onto an omnibus bill that the White House is unlikely to veto.

"It looks like a done deal," EFF legislative analyst Mark Jaycox told The Register. "It's what we've been saying about CISA from the start – this has been couched as a security bill but it's not."

Under the original CISA legislation, companies would share their users' information with federal government departments once it had been anonymized. The government could then analyze it for online threats, while the companies received legal immunity from prosecution for breaking existing privacy agreements.

But as the bill was amended, the privacy parts of the proposed law have been stripped away. Now companies don't have to anonymize data before handing it over. In addition, the government can use it for surveillance and for activities outside cybercrime. And in addition, companies don't have to report security failings even if they spot them.

...

Full article on link

---

The real trickery here is that the bill had any protections of privacy to begin with.

This government is NOT restrained in any form what so ever by words on paper any longer. Prepare yourselves for the cumulative and chilling consequences of living in a world where everything is subject to approval where the punishments for your misdeeds will range from minor fines and levies to life sentences, where morality is disconnected from the law, and where corporate profits are given higher priority than individual growth, self determination, and free will.

Three Felonies Per Day.

This is the world of the Subjective Criminals.

We already live in a world where everyone is hypersensitive to having their precious "feelings hurt" by minor expressions of opinion. Many people still believe that the ides of "nothing wrong, nothing to hide" is based on morality, and that our laws support and uphold our moral framework as a society. This is the ME generation. The most selfish generation that has ever existed. They care neither for morality nor the law. They will cry when you dont pay enough of your paycheck to them when they feel lazy and insist on not working which will be your new crime. Dont you dare hurt the feelings of any Millenial, refuse to work for them for free, or insult or slander them by telling them yes, those pants do make them look fat. This will be the world where your personal choices determine guilt or innocence.

When you do not support the fanboys of this or that, it will be deemed a crime for which you will be punished. When you eat bacon and it offends someone, it will also be a crime. When you choose coke or pepsi and pick one that someone else does not agree with, you will be branded the criminal. Your punishment will not start off with the harshest of consequences, rather the least pervasive form of punishment, minor fines. The effects of holding you accountable for the most minor of infractions will become so cumulative and so pervasive, you will not dare to whisper above your breath in fear of offending anyone. You will eventually see increases for more serious crimes, like questioning the validity of the authority of our oppressors, and the punishment for these violations will become so severe that if you hurt someones feelings over religion, death will be your your sentence and will be dealt with swiftly and harshly.

In a world without Privacy, the Thought Criminals are created from ordinary freedom loving men by simply claiming to be offended by everything and anything at all. And watch helplessly as the framework of morality crumbles and your civilization burns.

[TheTexan]

But, safety

[ZENemy]

Why not, its not like anyone passing laws has ANY accountability, what do they care?

[luctor-et-emergo]

It was nice knowing you guys but all the mechanisms for 1984 are now officially in place.

A while ago similar stuff was officially legalized here and I talked to someone who knew more about it who didn't understand why I was frustrated about it because they were doing it all along...

But really, it's more about the principle. When it's legal, it's tilting the sliding slope indefinitely towards the wrong side.

[Brian4Liberty]

Congress Slips CISA Into a Budget Bill That’s Sure to Pass (http://www.wired.com/2015/12/congress-slips-cisa-into-omnibus-bill-thats-sure-to-pass/)


Privacy advocates were aghast in October when the Senate passed the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act by a vote of 74 to 21, leaving intact portions of the law they say make it more amenable to surveillance than actual security. Now, as CISA gets closer to the President’s desk, those privacy critics argue that Congress has quietly stripped out even more of its remaining privacy protections.

In a late-night session of Congress, House Speaker Paul Ryan announced a new version of the “omnibus” bill, a massive piece of legislation that deals with much of the federal government’s funding. It now includes a version of CISA as well. Lumping CISA in with the omnibus bill further reduces any chance for debate over its surveillance-friendly provisions, or a White House veto. And the latest version actually chips away even further at the remaining personal information protections that privacy advocates had fought for in the version of the bill that passed the Senate.

“They took a bad bill, and they made it worse,” says Robyn Greene, policy counsel for the Open Technology Institute.

CISA had alarmed the privacy community by giving companies the ability to share cybersecurity information with federal agencies, including the NSA, “notwithstanding any other provision of law.” That means CISA’s information-sharing channel, ostensibly created for responding quickly to hacks and breaches, could also provide a loophole in privacy laws that enabled intelligence and law enforcement surveillance without a warrant.

The latest version of the bill appended to the omnibus legislation seems to exacerbate that problem. It creates the ability for the president to set up “portals” for agencies like the FBI and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, so that companies hand information directly to law enforcement and intelligence agencies instead of to the Department of Homeland Security. And it also changes when information shared for cybersecurity reasons can be used for law enforcement investigations. The earlier bill had only allowed that backchannel use of the data for law enforcement in cases of “imminent threats,” while the new bill requires just a “specific threat,” potentially allowing the search of the data for any specific terms regardless of timeliness.

Senator Ron Wyden also spoke out against the changes to the bill in a press statement, writing they’d worsened a bill he already opposed as a surveillance bill in the guise of cybersecurity protections. “Americans deserve policies that protect both their security and their liberty,” he wrote. “This bill fails on both counts.” Senator Richard Burr, who had introduced the earlier version of bill, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Even in its earlier version, CISA had drawn the opposition of tech firms including Apple, Twitter, and Reddit, as well as the Business Software Alliance and the Computer and Communications Industry Association. In April, a coalition of 55 civil liberties groups and security experts signed onto an open letter opposing it. In July, the Department of Homeland Security itself warned that the bill could overwhelm the agency with data of “dubious value” at the same time as it “sweep[s] away privacy protections.”

That Senate CISA bill was already likely on its way to become law. The White House expressed its support for the bill in August, despite its threat to veto similar legislation in the past. But the inclusion of CISA in the omnibus package may make it even more likely to be signed into law in its current form. Any “nay” vote in the house—or President Obama’s veto—would also threaten the entire budget of the federal government.

“They’re kind of pulling a Patriot Act,” says OTI’s Greene. “They’ve got this bill that’s kicked around for years and had been too controversial to pass, so they’ve seen an opportunity to push it through without debate. And they’re taking that opportunity.”
...
http://www.wired.com/2015/12/congress-slips-cisa-into-omnibus-bill-thats-sure-to-pass/

[Brian4Liberty]

Justin Amash ‏@justinamash tweeted:


Your calls are working.
(202) 224-3121. #protectprivacy #StopOmnibus #StopCISA (https://twitter.com/justinamash/status/677544013759688705)

[Cabal]

Can we get all these threads merged? There's like 5 threads about the same topic.

[Brian4Liberty]

Your calls are making a difference. #Omnibus is losing votes fast. Keep it up! (202) 224-3121. #protectprivacy #StopOmnibus #StopCISA (https://twitter.com/justinamash/status/677531337574785024)

677531337574785024

[Brian4Liberty]

Reps. Amash, Massie Blast Congressional Spending Bill for ‘Unconstitutional’ Surveillance Measures


The last-minute addition of the Cybersecurity Act of 2015 to a massive Congressional spending bill has drawn criticism from Representatives who call the provisions unconstitutional, and say that they are an excuse for the U.S. government to expand warrantless domestic cyber surveillance.

In a statement to Truth In Media on Thursday, Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) said he does not support the bill, and he sees it as possibly the “worst anti-privacy vote” since the Patriot Act in 2001.

A vote for the omnibus is a vote to support unconstitutional surveillance on all Americans. It’s probably the worst anti-privacy vote in Congress since the Patriot Act.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) released a statement on his Facebook page on Wednesday, claiming that he learned of the addition of the “completely unrelated legislation to expand warrantless domestic cyber surveillance” on Tuesday night.
...
More: http://truthinmedia.com/justin-amash-thomas-massie-blast-congressional-spending-bill-surveillance-measures/

[Brian4Liberty]

Vote for #omnibus is probably the worst anti-privacy vote in Congress since the #PatriotAct. #StopOmnibus #StopCISA (https://twitter.com/justinamash/status/677319899807670274) http://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/263537-cyber-bill-spurs-several-no-votes-on-omnibus

677319899807670274

[thoughtomator]

Told you - Ryan is Boehner on steroids. Why is there a GOP, again?

[Brian4Liberty]

People at home often think their phone calls to Congress don't matter. They're wrong. Calls change outcomes. #StopOmnibus #StopCISA (https://twitter.com/justinamash/status/677308723463892992)

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[Mach]

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/12/17/pat-caddell-country-closer-to-revolution-than-ever/



Caddell cited elements of the bill that are still being discovered, such as the upping of the number of foreign visas (http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/263529-funding-deal-hits-backlash-over-increase-in-worker-visas). Caddell was referring to a provision that was outrageously “slipped into the bill” without the knowledge of many lawmakers.


“By the time you get through this bill, every special interest will have been paid off,” said Caddell. “Everyone will have done what they wanted to do. The Republicans … will have sold everything out to please the oil companies”. Caddell also chastised Republican presidential candidates for not saying anything about it in the recent debate. expressing his frustration that the issue doesn’t seem to be being addressed by any candidates, Caddell said.


“If Donald Trump (RAND PAUL) wants to seal his victory, all he has to do is stand up and attack McConnell and Ryan and what they’ve just done.”

[invisible]

Reps. Amash, Massie Blast Congressional Spending Bill for ‘Unconstitutional’ Surveillance Measures

Why aren't they also calling for ryan's immediate resignation and removal?

[CPUd]

Don't let Congress fool you: cybersecurity bills aren't about "information sharing," they're about surveillance.

This year the House and Senate passed CISPA-like "information sharing" bills to stop computer security threats. But the bills—like the Senate Intelligence Committee's "Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act"(CISA) and House Intelligence Committee's Protecting Cyber Networks Act—grant companies broad legal immunity to spy on users and share that information with the NSA.

The bills ignore reality: experts can already share technical information to stop threats without sharing unrelated personal information. And some experts even say the bills may not help computer security.

Right now the Senate and House are reconciling the differences of the bills for a final passage this week. That's why it's important to tweet to one of the lead negotiators—Rep. Mike McCaul of the Homeland Security Committee—and ask him to stand up for privacy. Will you join us?



There is a button on the page that will tweet Mike McCaul:
https://act.eff.org/action/stop-the-cyber-bills