Lieberman’s bill would give the President sweeping powers over the internet

Joe Leiberman’s bill, S.3480 the ‘Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act of 2010′, would give the president power to shut down the internet. Not a new idea but as always, they shuffle the bills around, changing name and bide their time in order to push them through. It’s all under the guise of security

From antiwar.com, Senate Bill Would Give Obama Internet ‘Kill Switch’:

But easily the most controversial aspect of the nearly 200 page bill is what is being called a “kill switch,” granting the president the power to shut down the entire Internet across the planet for national security reasons. Sen. Collins (R – ME), a supporter of the bill, claimed it was necessary to prevent a “cyber 9/11.”

The bill amounts to a remarkable claim of presidential power, claiming a large portion of the global economy as a specific asset of the United States and further claiming the right to nationalize or destroy it in whole or part on a whim. The news may be disquieting enough for Americans faced with this sort of power grab from their own government, but for foreigners the idea that another nation can commandeer the Internet, cut them off from it, or render it unusable is totally shocking, and not surprisingly, a source of no small consternation.

More details here:

New Bill Would Create Office of Cyber Policy in White House to Protect Nation from Cyber Terrorism, Before Its News.com

Read the bill here:

Text of S.3480 – Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act of 2010.