'Privacy Killer' CISPA Is Coming Back, Whether You Like It Or Not

Zack Whittaker | ZDNet | February 8, 2013

Dubbed a "privacy killer" by online activists, love it or hate it, the cyber-security CISPA bill will likely be brought into law—whether it's from the reintroduction of the bill by the U.S. House Intelligence Committee, or President Obama issuing (yet another) executive order.

...The cyber-security bill, dubbed CISPA—the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act— that was shelved once it passed the U.S. House after the U.S. Senate began work on its own set of measures. It would have effectively given the green card to American private-sector businesses to hand ordinary citizen data (and therefore potential intelligence) back to the U.S. government in order to thwart primarily cyber-attacks—but also what could potentially be terrorist attacks.

This, as you might expect, caused an uproar among the online community who believed that private companies could effectively hand over data—such as cell phone records, email records, and even Facebook and Twitter data—directly into the hands of U.S. intelligence. Even the White House was concerned, and threatened to veto the bill altogether.

But now, there are two separate reports that suggest CISPA could be heading back to the Congressional table, but also that President Obama may bypass his lawmakers altogether and issue his own executive order...