RT.com, 08
February, 2012
 |
| U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. (REUTERS / Yuri Gripas) |
Senate Majority
Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) launches a second round of attacks in an attempt to
censor the Internet.
After
trying to adopt Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA), both
pieces of legislation turned out to be a disaster, causing outrage among
Internet giants and ordinary users alike. Congress had to retreat. However it's
determined to get what it wants this time.
After the
shelving of SOPA and PIPA back in January Reid stated,“There is no reason that
the legitimate issues raised by many about this bill cannot be resolved.”
As RT
reported last month, Senator Reid added that lawmakers will “continue engaging
with all stakeholders to forge a balance between protecting Americans’
intellectual property, and maintaining openness and innovation on the
Internet.”
The vote on
the anti-piracy legislation was postponed from its January 24date after
Wikipedia and other popular websites went dark to protest the draft law.
Now the
battle for online freedom continues.
The
rebuttal to push Internet-regulating legislation has transformed into a new
cybersecurity bill. The particulars of the latest attempt by senators to censor
the Internet have not been disclosed to the public.
However
some leaks suggest that the bill will grant the authority to crack down on the
Internet to the executive branch of power, namely the White House. It looks
highly possible taking into consideration that the legislation has to come out
of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, chaired by
Connecticut Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman.
The same Lieberman
who earlier co-sponsored the so called Kill Switch bill that could allow the
president of the United States to "declare a cybersecurity
emergency," and practically shut down the Internet.
After
outrage from Internet advocacy groups, Kill Switch never made it in the Senate.
This time it may be back under a new name.
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