White House criticizes proposed cybersecurity bill

Next week, the House of Representatives is expected to take up the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA), a bill easily as bad as the infamous SOPA/PIPA that we defeated at the end of last year.

CISPA is another broadly written bill targeting internet freedom in the guise of "cybersecurity," a concept not even defined in the legislation and broad enough to include intellectual property. It would allow surveillance and information sharing of customer data between private companies and the government, and remove legal protections for when and how those companies turn the information over to the government. What it doesn't do? Provide regulations for shoring up critical infrastructure, like power grids or water systems.

On Tuesday, the White House issued a statement that is critical of the legislation, after "top administration officials briefed lawmakers on the threat of cyber attacks."

In a statement, National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said any cybersecurity legislation should include strong privacy protections and should set mandatory security standards for critical infrastructure systems, such as electrical grids and water supplies. [...]

"The nation's critical infrastructure cyber vulnerabilities will not be addressed by information sharing alone," Hayden said.

"Also, while information sharing legislation is an essential component of comprehensive legislation to address critical infrastructure risks, information sharing provisions must include robust safeguards to preserve the privacy and civil liberties of our citizens. Legislation without new authorities to address our nation's critical infrastructure vulnerabilities, or legislation that would sacrifice the privacy of our citizens in the name of security, will not meet our nation's urgent needs," she said, without explicitly mentioning CISPA.

The bill is more oriented toward allowing companies to make sure customers aren't illegally sharing files than with actually protecting critical infrastructure. It gives the government essentially unfettered access to our personal information, without privacy protections. Where SOPA was an attack on our First Amendment rights, CISPA attacks the Fourth.

The White House is right be concerned. The bill is overly broad, it doesn't protect privacy rights and it doesn't protect critical infrastructure.

Tell your member of Congress to vote "no" on CISPA.