Feds bringing back up internet "Kill Switch"

Oh, they are only doing it to "protect" us. rofllol

US gets internet 'kill switch' bill ready
Legislation granting the president internet-killing powers is to be re-introduced soon to a Senate committee, the proposal’s chief sponsor told Wired.com on Friday.

The resurgence of the so-called “kill switch” legislation came the same day Egyptians faced an internet blackout designed to counter massive demonstrations in that country.

The bill, which has bipartisan support, is being floated by Sen. Susan Collins, the Republican ranking member on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. The proposed legislation, which Collins said would not give the president the same power Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak is exercising to quell dissent, sailed through the Homeland Security Committee in December but expired with the new Congress weeks later.

>>>>> Wired.com <<<<<<

Now where was that link to the HAM forum, not that the feds couldn't jam the radio spectrum if they chose to do so.

Paranoia on exhibit at its finest.

Why is this paranoia? What makes a bill dangerous is not what the current president may do with the power, but what will some whacko president 20 years from now decide to do with the power granted. This is the danger of the Patriot Act and other legislation. There is no guarantee that stable, steady leaders will always have power. That is the caution with which the Constitution was written.

The government wants the ability to shut down the largest form of communication and information in case of a ‘National Emergency”! How is anyone okay with this?

It will be rather bad if ever the populace is the "national emergency".

The possibilities of what is being proposed are endless, and very disturbing. I do not think that an internet kill switch is a good idea even if it was in the right hands; and there are NONE of those in Washington on ether side. That only leaves one place for this obscene amount of power to go.

major bean wrote: Why is this paranoia? What makes a bill dangerous is not what the current president may do with the power, but what will some whacko president 20 years from now decide to do with the power granted. This is the danger of the Patriot Act and other legislation. There is no guarantee that stable, steady leaders will always have power. That is the caution with which the Constitution was written.

I am not as worried as the rest of you. There may be times, especially if we are experiencing a massive overseas internet attack, where it would only be prudent to shut things down.

major bean wrote: Why is this paranoia? What makes a bill dangerous is not what the current president may do with the power, but what will some whacko president 20 years from now decide to do with the power granted. This is the danger of the Patriot Act and other legislation. There is no guarantee that stable, steady leaders will always have power. That is the caution with which the Constitution was written.

Not worried about the current president. It is the whole concept that reeks of paranoia in the sense of inhibiting communication. You are right about the potential danger. It provides a great means to circumvent the first amendment. Now, as pointed out subsequently it is also a means to regulate internet attacks, but the reality is, the attacks would be focused on government of some industry segment or both, not everyone in the US. An internet kill switch need only insulate those entities it would seem, not the entire internet. The only reason to kill the entire internet would be to stem a revolution.