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Government Surveillance

Cybersecurity Legislation Still Fundamentally Flawed: CDT Opposes CISPA

Washington – CDT strongly opposes the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, or CISPA, which will be reintroduced today by House Intelligence Chairman Mike Rogers and Ranking Member C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger.

CDT opposed CISPA last year, as did virtually all civil liberties and Internet freedom groups. The bill that is being reintroduced includes no new language to address those strong privacy concerns.

CISPA remains fundamentally flawed in two ways,” said CDT President Leslie Harris. “It allows private Internet communications and information of American citizens to go directly to the NSA, a military intelligence agency that operates secretly with little public accountability. Once that private information is in the hands of the military, it can be used for purposes completely unrelated to cybersecurity.”

“In seeking to promote cybersecurity information sharing, CISPA creates a sweeping exception to all privacy laws,” continued Harris. “It dismantles years of hard fought privacy protections for Americans. We urge all Members of Congress to oppose this bill and to work instead for cybersecurity legislation that enhances both privacy and security. CDT will work with all Members of Congress and all stakeholders to achieve that goal.”