Joe Lieberman Proposes Internet Shutdown Bill

[The Deadman]

http://www.gamepolitics.com/2010/06/...h-powers-potus

You heard correct, Joe Lieberman has proposed a bill that would give the president the direct power to shut off the entire internet for as long as he wanted. He would be given a "kill-switch" which would shut down every single private internet provider for a time period to be decided by the government.

Does anyone else here realize what happens if this passes?

1. It would give the president (one person) the direct control of 3/4 of our economy, 4/5 or more of our communication, and at least half the country's businesses.
2. This gives the terrorists a one-stop kill switch to all of this, all they have to do is hack it.
3. This would allow the government to censor the internet in case of a controversial event, along with blocking out news that opposes the government.
4. It would give the president the power to forcefully shutdown private companies without consent.
5. Not to mention this includes, I quote, "the internet, the telephone system or any other component of the US information infrastructure."

Opinions?

[Candy Kappa]

no that's stupid, having one man controlling the Internet is absurd.

I see a power trip abuse if that ever passes

[Toonami Tom]

That's some incredibly scary sh*t.

Well, that confirms it for me. The entire world is officially f*cked up. I hope everything works out for the best, but I won't be surprised if it doesn't.

[Koi]

Good luck getting that to pass.

[愛]

I remember back when we had Prohibition. People got MAD. I don't know how this is any different. If it gets passed, we're going to have "Typeasies!"

[oldmanwinters]

Dude! Al Gore brought the internet into this world and he can take it out!



Seriously though...

This is a very disturbing trend. What are we trying to become... China?
Sounds like a bipartisan disaster.

[Master Splinter]

I'm not really in agreement with the Bill but I do sometimes wish the Internet never existed in the first place...



-ms

[oldmanwinters]

Originally Posted by Master Splinter

I'm not really in agreement with the Bill but I do sometimes wish the Internet never existed in the first place...



-ms

I feel your pain on that front, mainly due to the invention of personal blogs and twitter.

[Roseangelo]

I have been a supporter of Joe Lieberman for awhile, but this really makes me want to take all of that support back.

[Ninjinister]

What possible reason could there every be an "emergency shutdown" of the internet all across the entire country?

[TheCanadiandrome]

Joe Lieberman is an idiot

[Spitfire]

I wish a week would go by where someone doesn't do something so insanely retarded I question how they got in the position they're in.

Morons make the world a scary place.

[Cure]

Pft, I am all for this. It's like no one here has seen Terminator.

[RAM BAM]

That sounds like some fearmongering you would expect
from the last presidency. I'm suprised!

[Ninjinister]

Reading over this, it's not a literal "kill-switch", but more like a "sound the alarm" kind of thing. That's a little better, but not much. It also makes a lot more sense from a real-world prospective.

Still trying to figure out what would constitute as such an emergency. Everything claims that it would be a massive "cyber-terrorist attack", but obviously this is a case of 'did not do the research'. The internet doesn't work that way.

[Leonardo Mystic]

How long until 2012? I will seriously consider exercising my right to vote for the very first time. Anything to get the current administration out of Dodge.

[Ninjinister]

Originally Posted by Leonardo Mystic

How long until 2012? I will seriously consider exercising my right to vote for the very first time. Anything to get the current administration out of Dodge.

Nn. Not really the place to dive into this really, but that's not going to change a darn thing. The previous administration was s**t, just at the one before it and so on for quite a bit. We need a complete restructuring, in my book, lest the nation go belly-up within our lifetimes.

[ooglafina]

Communism here we come. Well, I guess it's not really communism in theory. But it's still asinine.

[Warhorse]

Hmmm. Maybe the theory of the Illuminati is correct.

When I see the Amero being suggested, it might be the time to move to Africa.

[plastroncafe]

Originally Posted by Leonardo Mystic

How long until 2012? I will seriously consider exercising my right to vote for the very first time. Anything to get the current administration out of Dodge.

Um...just a point of order here:
Lieberman is a Senator from Connecticut, and not part of the current Presidential Administration.

There's a lot you can blame Obama for, but Lieberman's actions as a representative of the people of Connecticut isn't one of them.

And while I totally support your decision to vote, please realize that by residing in Georgia you really have no say in whether or not Lieberman remains in office.

Just happened to find this link from the New York Times regarding this proposal:
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2010/0...internet-bill/

Initially I thought this might be some sort of Emergency Broadcast System for the web, but if this article is to be taken as a correct summary, it looks like it'd shut off the US to other countries in a time of war.

Of course now that Congress has set the precedent of abdicating their rights to declare war to the President, I'm less than comfortable with this kind of thing.