Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA). This legislation (H.R. 624) would further legalize the massive sharing of private-user online data by Internet companies with federal government agencies, such as the National Security Agency (NSA), that has already been happening for years. As Robert X. Cringely posted in his article \”The CISPA Circus: Send in the Clowns\” on InfoWorld.com on April 19, the day after the CISPA bill passed in the House: \”The problem with CISPA is that in its current form it\’s still vague and ripe for abuse. It absolves corporations of being responsible for what happens to the data they\’ve collected. It allows data sharing with the entire federal government, not just the parts responsible for ensuring our safety. It circumvents other laws designed to limit governmental access to private information. And it can be deployed for a wide range of perceived threats that have nothing to do with attacks on our nation\’s infrastructure.\”
The House passed CISPA on April 18, 2013 by a vote of 288 to 127 (Roll Call 117). We have assigned pluses to the nays because the massive sharing of private citizens\’ online data by Internet companies with federal government agencies authorized by this bill violates \”the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures\” as set forth in the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution.
