Controlling the internet is another overreach; yes you need to oppose this

A few months ago the Obama Administration floated the idea of federal control of the internet during certain emergencies so as to protect the national interest.  Now there is a real bill to do just that, promoted by Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-NY).  The bill would, among other things, give the federal government authority to shut down private internet services. 

I have worked in technology for business for many years and can tell you this is a pretty dumb idea, not because it is something a communist country would do but because it's just not practical.

Fact:  Interconnected computers (the internet) are crawling with viruses, trojan horses, spam, programs that hijack your browser, unwanted cookies, and all manner of devilish, randomly-harmful scripts that can either just irritate your web experience or empty your hard drive and cause a personal crisis. 

Fact:  Businesses have figured out how to defend against 99% of aforementioned threats.  Companies that provide security software are, on a daily basis, providing internet-distributed updates to its security programs.  Most businesses also employ either an in-house or contracted network support team to respond to unwanted network infiltrations.

Fact:  If some kind of "cyberterrorism" should occur, 1) firms whose business is internet security will leap on the threat; 2) those same firms will want to distribute protective programs via the internet so as to contain or destroy the threat; and 3) the government will be slow to respond because it does not have the same incentive or expertise as private firms.

The laughable part of this bill is that it gives the government authority to somehow 'shut down' the internet. 

I guess the thought is that shutting it down would somehow prevent the threat from spreading.  But this is like strangling someone who has inhaled ammonia or some other toxic gas.  They don't need closure of the path that allowed the threat to enter; they need an antidote through the same path; in this case oxygen.

The fact is many anti-virus programs are distributed through the internet and are designed to identify and destroy viruses, worms, and other insidious threats.  The federal government is not on top of the latest in threats - private software firms are. 

If government is to play any role it should be in joint research and collaboration with private companies to develop protective technology -- not as some idiotic switch-thrower that could make matters worse.