Obama To Get Internet "Kill Switch"

A Senate Committee has approved a measure that would give President Obama a "kill switch" for the Internet in case of a "cyber-emergency." In other words, PresBo would have the power to turn off the Internet at any time.
http://news.techworld.com/security/3228198/obama-internet-kill-switch-plan-approved-by-us-senate/?olo=rss

A US Senate committee has approved a wide-ranging cybersecurity bill that some critics have suggested would give the US president the authority to shut down parts of the Internet during a cyberattack.

The bill, introduced earlier this month, would establish a White House Office for Cyberspace Policy and a National Center for Cybersecurity and Communications, which would work with private US companies to create cybersecurity requirements for the electrical grid, telecommunications networks and other critical infrastructure.

The bill also would allow the US president to take emergency actions to protect critical parts of the Internet, including ordering owners of critical infrastructure to implement emergency response plans, during a cyber-emergency. The president would need congressional approval to extend a national cyber-emergency beyond 120 days under an amendment to the legislation approved by the committee.

As we can see, this is another attempt to concentrate power over the private-sector into the hands of the Executive branch of our federal government.


I'm sorry, but the President has no business having that kind of power. Especially not when he doesn't even need Congressional approval to exercise it.

Notice that Congressional approval isn't needed until 120 days have passed. But if PresBo keeps the Internet shut down for 120 days (FOUR months!), then this nation would already be in a world of hurt.

No, government does not need to have control over the Internet, no matter what reasons they give. This is such an incredibly bad idea that it's really hard to know where to begin.