A senate proposed bill that has become known as the Internet “Kill Switch” Bill was recently reintroduced.  The controversial bill first introduced by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn) in June 2010 shall empower the president and in turn Homeland Security to issue decrees that pertain to certain privately owned computer systems should the president declare a “national cyberemergency”.

Amidst criticism from the likes of the ACLU and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Sen. Collins has stated that the proposed bill is proactive in that “We cannot afford to wait for a cyber 9/11 before our government finally realizes the importance of protecting our digital resources”.  Moreover, in addressing the concerns directed to the expansive nature of the bill, the Senator has stated that “The emergency measures in our bill apply in a precise and targeted way only to our most critical infrastructure”. 

To further clarify the bill, Senator Lieberman has stated that there’s no “kill switch” in this bill, and that “It is impossible to turn off the Internet in this country.  This legislation applies to the most critical infrastructures that Americans rely on in their daily lives – energy transmission, water supply, financial services, for example – to ensure that those assets are protected in case of a potentially crippling cyberattack”. 

Despite these assurances, the ACLU has stated that the problem is not that the federal government would have an Internet “kill switch”, in fact the “question is bigger than that.  It’s generally, can the government interfere with communications… The question is:  Are there significant protections in there?”.  More pointedly, Jim Harper a member of a Homeland Security advisory panel, raised the following question “They recognize that a total Internet kill switch is totally unacceptable” but “A smaller Internet kill switch, or a series of kill switches, is also unacceptable… How does this make cybersecurity better?  They have no answer.” 

Building on these sentiments, further opponents from industry groups and technology companies are of the view that the bill “is in need of additional refinement”. 

For additional information, visit: 

http://tinyurl.com/Kill-Switch-Internet

C. Donald Brown BScH, B.Eng, LL.B.

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