By Jay Hansen

CISPA, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, has been out there for a while now, and it is the latest incarnation of SOPA and PIPA. Not long ago the Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed it despite massive violations of civil liberties that will effectively end all privacy on the internet. Today I finally sat down and wrote my Senators, Coburn and Inhofe, about this legislation. For my commentary and detailed reasoning as to why I oppose it, see my letters below.

Please also take note that there are in fact two separate letters in this article; one for Inhofe and one for Coburn, and while they are mostly the same, they are not exactly the same.

President Obama strongly opposes and has already threatened to veto the legislation should it reach his desk because he believes it violates people’s privacy. Right now it’s still yet to pass the Senate, so write your Senators today! It won’t take longer than an hour to express your beliefs, and feel free to use elements from my own letters to help with your own (along with these tips I’ve written up for writing representatives). I’d strongly recommend the above Young Turks video as well as this ThinkProgress story for whatever information you may need regarding CISPA before writing. Democracy can’t happen if you don’t participate!

Write your Senators today!

Not from Oklahoma? Find your Senator here!

 Letter to Senator Inhofe

Dear Senator Inhofe,

My name is Jay Hansen. A few months ago I wrote you with concerns over proposed legislation known as SOPA and PIPA to voice my opposition to such legislation on the grounds that it gave the federal government, particularly the Department of Justice, too much power over the content on the internet. I was overjoyed, and very relieved, when I learned that you were one of the first Senators to oppose the legislation. I now write you today about a new piece of legislation that brings up very similar concerns, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA).

I’m aware that CISPA does have its differences from SOPA and PIPA, the primary one being that CISPA is framed more to be about cyber and national security than an anti-piracy measure, but its results are equally undesirable. What concerns me most is the complete disregard for the privacy of American citizens, as this bill would virtually eliminate it on the internet and greatly endanger the entire idea of anonymity online. Internet companies such as Google and Facebook will share information with the government, regardless of how personal or private it may be, without reasonable suspicion or a warrant. This is the biggest issue I have with the legislation. I know that cyber security and the danger of hackers is a serious one, and if the legislation simply required the government get a search warrant or other form of court order prior to obtaining the information from these companies I would feel much more comfortable with this legislation, but even then I would still have my concerns.

In today’s world, the fourth amendment is all too often overlooked despite how fundamentally vital it is to our democracy, and CISPA would completely end its application to the internet and digital information exchanges. The government, as you frequently warn against, would grow dangerously large and powerful with the information to which it would have limitless access under this law. Anything you’ve ever posted online or typed into a computer database, whether it’s a published article, a private e-mail, or even something as simple as a Google search, would be at the immediate knowledge and disposal of the government and the individuals within. That is the definition of a government grown too large, and the very essence of Orwell’s “Big Brother.”

Like SOPA and PIPA, these concerns stem from unclear or vague definitions and terminology within the legislation. What exactly constitutes a “cyber threat?” Who decides what a cyber threat is? What’s to stop this particular person in the government from using this power to simply spy on American citizens? Further definition of these terms, along with conflicts with the fourth amendment, would have to be resolved before I could support CISPA.

Perhaps worse though is the fact that these companies required to surrender private information at the behest of the government would be immune from any criminal or civil liability. With such legal protection, what would stop these companies from taking actions on their own against clients they don’t like? What would stop Google, or perhaps a single unethical or bitter employee (or manager) within the company, from leaking private information about someone they simply don’t like? There wouldn’t be any repercussions for the company, as they now have blanket protection to do anything with private information they so choose.

CISPA is simply a bad piece of legislation. It gives the federal government Orwellian-like power and insight into the private lives of its citizens, it forces businesses both big and small to surrender information to the government about their clients without a warrant or reasonable suspicion whether the company consents to it or not, it enables companies and people within them to leak any information about anyone they want, opening the flood gates for unethical behavior such as blackmail or petty spite, without any repercussions, and generally puts an end to privacy on the internet. It greatly saddens me to not only see that this legislation has already passed the House, but that it did so almost entirely along party lines with Republicans supporting it and Democrats opposing it despite its massive expanse of the federal government’s power over individual citizens and egregious violations of our civil liberties, making this legislation diametrically opposed to conservative ideology of smaller government and individual freedom.

Senator Inhofe, you were one of the few Senators who stood up early in the fight against SOPA and PIPA on very similar principles as the ones that plague CISPA. For that I was overjoyed and even proud despite our massive disagreements on other topics.  Can I also count on your opposition to this legislation in its current form?

I apologize for the length of my letter, and thank you very much for your time.

-          Jay Hansen

Letter to Senator Coburn

Dear Senator Coburn,

My name is Jay Hansen. A few months ago I wrote you with concerns over proposed legislation known as SOPA and PIPA to voice my opposition to such legislation on the grounds that it gave the federal government, particularly the Department of Justice, too much power over the content on the internet. I now write you today about a new piece of legislation that brings up very similar concerns, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA).

I’m aware that CISPA does have its differences from SOPA and PIPA, the primary one being that CISPA is framed more to be about cyber and national security than an anti-piracy measure, but its results are equally undesirable. What concerns me most is the complete disregard for the privacy of American citizens, as this bill would virtually eliminate it on the internet and greatly endanger the entire idea of anonymity online. Internet companies such as Google and Facebook will share information with the government, regardless of how personal or private it may be, without reasonable suspicion or a warrant. This is the biggest issue I have with the legislation. I know that cyber security and the danger of hackers is a serious one, and if the legislation simply required the government get a search warrant or other form of court order prior to obtaining the information from these companies I would feel much more comfortable with this legislation, but even then I would still have my concerns.

In today’s world, the fourth amendment is all too often overlooked despite how fundamentally vital it is to our democracy, and CISPA would completely end its application to the internet and digital information exchanges. The government, as you frequently warn against, would grow dangerously large and powerful with the information to which it would have limitless access under this law. Anything you’ve ever posted online or typed into a computer database, whether it’s a published article, a private e-mail, or even something as simple as a Google search, would be at the immediate knowledge and disposal of the government and the individuals within. That is the definition of a government grown too large, and the very essence of Orwell’s “Big Brother.”

Like SOPA and PIPA, these concerns stem from unclear or vague definitions and terminology within the legislation. What exactly constitutes a “cyber threat?” Who decides what a cyber threat is? What’s to stop this particular person in the government from using this power to simply spy on American citizens? Further definition of these terms, along with conflicts with the fourth amendment, would have to be resolved before I could support CISPA.

Perhaps worse though is the fact that these companies required to surrender private information at the behest of the government would be immune from any criminal or civil liability. With such legal protection, what would stop these companies from taking actions on their own against clients they don’t like? What would stop Google, or perhaps a single unethical or bitter employee (or manager) within the company, from leaking private information about someone they simply don’t like? There wouldn’t be any repercussions for the company, as they now have blanket protection to do anything with private information they so choose.

CISPA is simply a bad piece of legislation. It gives the federal government Orwellian-like power and insight into the private lives of its citizens, it forces businesses both big and small to surrender information to the government about their clients without a warrant or reasonable suspicion whether the company consents to it or not, it enables companies and people within them to leak any information about anyone they want, opening the flood gates for unethical behavior such as blackmail or petty spite, without any repercussions, and generally puts an end to privacy on the internet. It greatly saddens me to not only see that this legislation has already passed the House, but that it did so almost entirely along party lines with Republicans supporting it and Democrats opposing it despite its massive expanse of the federal government’s power over individual citizens and egregious violations of our civil liberties, making this legislation diametrically opposed to conservative ideology of smaller government and individual freedom.

It is these exact principles of preventing unjustified expansion of the federal government’s power, violations of our civil liberties, and unclear, vague language in a bill that could lead to detrimental consequences for the American people that led me to oppose the National Defense Authorization Act past at the end of last year, which you voted against for reasons that I can only speculate are because of your fidelity to a true conservative ideology. When you were one of only seven Senators to vote no on the NDAA, I was overjoyed and even proud despite our many disagreements on other issues. Senator Coburn, can I count on you to stick to your conservative principles once again, and vote against CISPA should it come to the Senate?

I apologize for the length of my letter, and thank you very much for your time.

- Jay Hansen