As Egypt goes offline US gets internet 'kill switch' bill ready

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.

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The internet is a dangerous place ... US Senator Joe Lieberman. Photo: AP

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Angry scenes ... protesters gather at the statue of Alexander the Great in Cairo to demand the resignation of Hosni Mubarak Photo: AFP/Topshots

Senator Susan Collins, a co-sponsor of the bill, said that unlike in Egypt, where the government was using its Senator Susan Collins, a co-sponsor of the bill, said that unlike in Egypt, where the government was using its powers to quell dissent by shutting down the internet, it would not.

“My legislation would provide a mechanism for the government to work with the private sector in the event of a true cyber emergency,” Collins said in an emailed statement to Wired. “It would give our nation the best tools available to swiftly respond to a significant threat.”

The proposed legislation, introduced into the US Senate by independent senator Joe Lieberman, who is chairman of the US Homeland Security committee, seeks to grant the President broad emergency powers over the internet in times of national emergency.

Full Article here

They are trying do this for some time as you can see here:

Rockefeller Lieberman Cyber Security Act of 2009 would Give the President an Internet "Kill Switch"



Interesting to see what this cyber emergency is going to be in order to shut down our internet.

If this is such an innocent bill why is it written into it that there can be no judicial review?

Well to me is pretty clear that suppression and regulation, of the Internet and freedom of speach , Did Not Work in Egypt and Tunisia . The cat is already out of the bag !

Here you can see what I mean:

Egypt Protestors Fight Photos 1
Egypt Protestors Fight Photos 2

The cyber emergency will more then likely be too much information they won't want us knowing about.
If there is ever a revolution in America they will cut it so people can't organize and make change.
I see no reason to supress information in a supposed free society.

Originally posted by DrumsRfun
The cyber emergency will more then likely be too much information they won't want us knowing about.
If there is ever a revolution in America they will cut it so people can't organize and make change.
I see no reason to supress information in a supposed free society.

Thats the point. We are not free. I hope Im wrong, because if I dont, we will see this happening soon.

reply to post by RUSSO


Whats that line again???
Land of the free and home of the brave??

Land of corporations,home of the slave!!

In Canada its pretty much the same.
We just had the CRTC hand over our internet to big corporations.

Internet censorship is the exact same as the book burnings we see in totalitarian regimes.

Sadly it seems censorship will be forced on the world no matter what as those in control always want those under control to be ignorant...

reply to post by RUSSO



We need to write our senators and congressional reps, even our governors at the state level. This is a trojan horse bill, nothing less.

One thing else "no judicial review" as stated in the bill is horse puckey; congress can not pass any measure that cannot be reviewed by SCOTUS. Checks and balances folks.

A bunch of little tin-plated would be gods.

If the internet gets shut down, won't there be a few problems besides 'free speech'?

I'm thinking of everything that moves over the net, like Interac/credit card transactions, industrial 'just-in-time' parts and raw material movement, the stock market transactions... you know... little things like that.

Am I wrong?

reply to post by mydarkpassenger


One more thing: this safety at any cost crap needs to be stopped. America needs a serious attitude adjustment, or Bin Laden and Co. will be laughing their rear-ends off as our government does what all the terrorists in the world can't - take away our freedoms.

The internet is NOT a privilege. It is part and parcel to Free speech, the right of Free association and Freedom of the press.

We need to ride congresses collective a$$ about this as if those losers were a Kentucky Derby winner!

reply to post by masqua


You got it dead on the money.

Besides the rights issues, there is that little matter of an entire economy world wide so interconnected via the internet, that who knows what the ramifications would be?

There's also a ton of interlinked, internet based control machinery for everything from nuclear reactor monitoring to darned near everything. It's hard to think of anything significant which doesn't have a web component these days,

A future advertisement for Congress: when it has to be consistently stupid, all the time, and over night, think of Congress.

reply to post by masqua


Good point.
I think if there was a reason to use the switch then I don't think they will be worried about you buying and selling things.
It would have to be something BIG for them to use it which would make all the other things seem small in comparison.
Even the stock market which they close down when they lose too much in a day.

Its collateral damage I am assuming.

I can't fathom what makes the net so dangerous to them other then information.

if they shut the internet down then all the facebook addicts will lose all the meaning in their lives and just walk around with photo albums of them posing.

not sure what us ats addicts would do but i am sure a riot would be fun.

reply to post by DrumsRfun


What makes it dangerous, is that TPTB can't control the information we send and get on here. And that scares them.

I say let them be scared; they've earned it.

If Egypt lost over a billion dollars (US) over the past week because their stock market was down, think of what America stands to lose.

Back to ticker tape and telephone transactions? I doubt it.

Here's a question... how would you get your savings out of the bank if the internet was down? Think they still have ledgers and people making notations in them of your daily withdrawal/deposits?

reply to post by masqua


I learned from the blackouts we had a few years ago that I will never go without cash in my pocket.
All the ones who used debit cards should have learned a lesson.

Another form of control really if you think about it.

Originally posted by masqua
If the internet gets shut down, won't there be a few problems besides 'free speech'?

I'm thinking of everything that moves over the net, like Interac/credit card transactions, industrial 'just-in-time' parts and raw material movement, the stock market transactions... you know... little things like that.

Am I wrong?

edit on 1/2/11 by masqua because: (no reason given)

Well, they dont need "kill" all the tools in the internet, just what they dont need to make money.

Originally posted by mydarkpassenger
reply to post by RUSSO

 

We need to write our senators and congressional reps, even our governors at the state level. This is a trojan horse bill, nothing less.

One thing else "no judicial review" as stated in the bill is horse puckey; congress can not pass any measure that cannot be reviewed by SCOTUS. Checks and balances folks.

A bunch of little tin-plated would be gods.

I dont know if write letters will have some effect. So much lobies, corruption. And their agenda HAS to be done. Its sad to say this, but I dont think people will wake up in time to do something.

Hi, net fans.

I HOPE that if the B@$T@RDS ever switch the "net switch" OFF,
I HOPE MILLIONS of people will go in the STREETS ! ! !

Blue skies.

Originally posted by C-JEAN
Hi, net fans.

I HOPE that if the B@$T@RDS ever switch the "net switch" OFF,
I HOPE MILLIONS of people will go in the STREETS ! ! !

Blue skies.

Well, some fresh air indeed will be good to some people.

What cracks me up the most is that in Obama's recent speech regarding Egypt, he made mention of Mubarak cutting communication and the Internet as one of his main points of contention, second only to the violence against the protestors. I remember watching the speech hoping that everyone has a transcript of it since it is hypocrisy at its finest.

But then, I'm sure when the US cuts Internet it will have a good reason, as opposed to all of the other countries that do it and then we blast them for it.

Honestly, I'd be more pissed off at them for shutting off the Internet than the reason we were protesting in the first place. If they do it, it will only show the true extent of their guilt and fear of losing power.

If they shut off the Internet during a time of mass unrest I promise that will be the last thing they ever do because by the time it comes to turn it back on they will have lost all power.