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Where are all those privacy-rights liberals now?
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AP Photo/Ron Edmonds
So, where are all those privacy-rights liberals who screamed about the Patriot Act, now that Obama has announced the creation of yet another “czar,” who will have the totally open-ended power to “protect” the nation’s computers and keep them secure?
I think this latest appointment just might put Obama in the Guinness Book of World Records for the most people holding the title of czar outside of the Romonoffs, who ruled Russia from 1613 - 1918. For the casual observer who might wonder why he has used the czar position in so many areas of his administration, it's no small coincidence that the position doesn't require any Congressional approval or oversight.
This latest move by the President follows a report from his own cyber security advisor, Melissa Hathaway, who is considered the leading candidate for the new position. Well, in the words of the Church Lady, “Isn’t that special?” Not only are we seeing the creation of an internet “Big Brother,” but the person providing the requirements for the job is actually going to get the position. Talk about job security.
There are many aspects of this new position that Americans should find troubling. Under the Cybersecurity Act of 2009, which is Congress’ way of justifying this government takeover of the internet, the president has the ability to “declare a cybersecurity emergency” and shut down or limit Internet traffic in any “critical” information network “in the interest of national security.” The bill does not define a critical information network or a cybersecurity emergency. That definition would be left to the president.
But wait, there’s more. It also grants the Secretary of Commerce “access to all relevant data concerning [critical] networks without regard to any provision of law, regulation, rule, or policy restricting such access.” This means he or she can monitor or access any data on private or public networks without regard to privacy laws.
SEC. 14. PUBLIC–PRIVATE CLEARINGHOUSE
(a) DESIGNATION.—The Department of Commerce shall serve as the clearinghouse of cybersecurity threat and vulnerability information to Federal government and private sector owned critical infrastructure information systems and networks.
(b) FUNCTIONS.—The Secretary of Commerce—
(1) shall have access to all relevant data concerning such networks without regard to any provision of law, regulation, rule, or policy restricting such access; …
SEC. 18. CYBERSECURITY RESPONSIBILITIES AND AUTHORITY
The President— …
(2) may declare a cybersecurity emergency and order the limitation or shutdown of Internet traffic to and from any compromised Federal government or United States critical infrastructure information system or network; …
And they said that George Orwell’s book, 1984, was a work of fiction. Sounds more like a prophet to me.
What’s to prevent Obama from declaring an “emergency” when a conservative group makes a request for computer files as a part of an investigation into his administration? What’s to prevent an administration that has already declared “pro-life” supporters, military veterans returning from the war, and ”anti-tax” conservatives as domestic terrorists, from throwing the Fourth Amendment out the window and seizing internet records without a warrant, in the name of national security?
Where are all those privacy-rights liberals now?
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