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Lieberman Proposes Internet “Kill Switch,” Calls Web a US “National Asset”

by Michael Suen | 1:18 pm, June 18th

There’s been a lot of WTF-news making the rounds recently. Try this one on for size: Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.), at it again, proposed a bill last week that would effectively bestow the president with the authority to “seize control of or even shut down portions of the Internet,” writes CNET.

Bill S.3480, or the Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act (PCNAA), has been dubbed the Internet “kill switch.” According to the legislation, in the case of national emergencies, any private company that relies on the U.S. “information infrastructure” would be forced to comply with any orders (e.g. encrypt data, install a patch, or block web traffic) given by the president via the National Center for Cybersecurity and Communications (NCCC), a proposed agency that would be created under the Department of Homeland Security. I guess American freedom only goes so far!

Read on...

Texas Congressmen: Secure Our Borders with EMP Devices

by Jamie Block | 12:55 pm, June 3rd

No, this isn’t a special border patrol spinoff of 24. This is real life.

Republican Michael McCaul and Democrat Henry Cuellar, two Texas Congressman, want to put suitcase-contained EMP devices on our borders. EMPs, or electromagnetic pulse devices, send out an electric field that can disable any gadgetry it comes in contact with. As the only potential for human injury is that resulting from the electronic failures, this seems like a safe method for border patrol implementation.

At first, this seemed an odd choice.

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Louisiana Law Increases Sentences for Criminals Who Use Virtual Maps

by Jamie Block | 5:33 pm, May 28th

In what could be the most pointless piece of sentencing legislation ever, the Louisiana Senate has passed Senate Bill 151 by Sen. Robert Adley, R-Benton. This new law requires there be a minimum sentence of 10 years for any terrorist act committed with the aid of an online map. It also mandates that one year be added to the sentence of any burglar who used such a map in the planning of the crime.

According to nola.com:

Adley’s bill defines a “virtual street-level map” as one that is available on the Internet and can generate the location or picture of a home or building by entering the address of the structure or an individual’s name on a website.

It’s hard to imagine what possible justification there is for making using an online map illegal.

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