UPDATE May 31st, 2012: I have been receiving emails from various Liberty organizations that the word in the Senate is that there is massive opposition to the Cybersecurity Act 2012 and constituents know that CISPA is inside. KEEP THE CALLS/EMAILS/DISCUSSION UP!
Internet Censorship advocates in Congress continue their fight against the Constitution by creating a disguise for the recent House of Representatives-passed CISPA, under the name of Cybersecurity Act 2012, or S. 2105 in the Senate.
The vote on the Cybersecurity Act is rumored to be occurring between May 28th, 2012, and June 1st, 2012, so action needs to be taken as soon as possible, as next week is a recess week for Congress. Any updates on this information will be posted here.
The Censors within Congress obviously sense that American patriots are about to wield telephones, computers, and signs, and attempt to stop CISPA in the Senate, otherwise they likely wouldn’t have hidden it under the title “Cybersecurity” and within another bill. This is an attempt to convince you to sacrifice your individual right to Free Speech, highlighted within the First Amendment of the Constitution, and your individual right to Privacy & against search & seizure, highlighted within the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution.
Amendment 1 of the United States Constitution:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances”
Amendment 4 of the United States Constitution:
“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized”
I must thank Digital Trends for the following information:
The Cybersecurity Act is over 200 pages, compared to the 20 pages CISPA delivered, and still contains the authority for Government to demand any and all information from any private company it wishes to do so from. These private companies, must deliver any of the respective individual’s information the Government requests, and that information can then be passed along to various Government agencies such as the NSA.
It would also create a regulatory monster by requiring that all companies with infrastructure networks meet security standards set by the government, adding to the regulatory and cost burden businesses and individuals are already being put through.
Thus far, none of this requires a trial or any form of justice in any way. Now, what is not clear, is whether individuals are allotted a trial if the personal information taken from private companies on Citizens is used for arrest. That authority (to charge a Citzen with a crime based off the stolen information) is delivered with this bill, and the crime a respective individual is charged with does not have to be cyber-related; the stolen personal information is allowed to be used for any alleged crime.
I raise the issue of a trial, not to fear-monger, as I assume that a trial and some form of justice will still be required, but to highlight the possible link between the recently passed NDAA, which allows indefinite detention of American citizens without a trial, jury, or lawyer, and the “cybersecurity” factor within this bill.
If an individual is charged with a crime based off of information stolen through the Cybersecurity Bill, is said individual subject to the NDAA Indefinite Detention and absence of lawyer, trial, and jury sections?
This is a question I surely cannot answer, and one that there may not exist an answer to until said situation arises. Since the individuals behind this legislation have no respect for the Rule of Law, it is within their nature to create “law” as they go, eliminating the very theme and foundation of a Republic.
As Thomas Paine once stated in Common Sense,
“Yet that we may not appear to be defective even in earthly honors, let a day be solemnly set apart for proclaiming the charter; let it be brought forth placed on the divine law, the word of God; let a crown be placed thereon, by which the world may know, that so far as we approve of monarchy, that in America the law is king. For as in absolute governments the king is law, so in free countries the law ought to be king; and there ought to be no other”
The answer and solution in this situation, while it may seem dim and hopeless, is not to yield Liberty and integrity, but to spread it, because as Thomas Paine also once stated:
“Though the flame of liberty may sometimes cease to shine, the coal can never expire”
Take Action:
Visit PRIVACY IS AWESOME, a central grassroots website with a to-do list to stop Cybersecurity Act 2012 and similar legislation.
Find and contact your Senator HERE.
Ahmed Serag
Related:
What if We Have Only Memories of Freedom, By Judge Andrew Napolitano, May 24, 2012
[...] Texas Primary, and the long-awaited challenge to Congressman Lamar Smith SOPA Author (which is now CISPA),by Constitutional Sheriff [...]
[...] being arrested by drones, being killed by drones, and policed by them. Congress is attempting to take the internet with CISPA, to regulate it, to criminalize it, and to governmentalize it. At the same time, Congress is [...]
[...] by Admin. FISA 2012, or the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 2012, is a member in a group of surveillance laws that aims to deliver more power over the internet to the government. FISA received attention in [...]