

US Congress may sneak in Internet ‘kill switch’ - all
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/0828/congress-internet-kill-switch-defense-bill

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gkefalas
A lot of "may," "potentially," "considering," and other weasel words in that
article, no?

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flatulent1
We're so dependent on things that use the net. Are we prepared to cripple
commerce and unplug everyone's IP based phone? Maybe we should be focusing
more on making mission critical services invulnerable to compromise through
the net.

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wmf
I wonder if NSLs can already shut down networks thanks to the PATRIOT act.

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edge17
can someone please explain, physically, wtf an internet 'kill switch' is?

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wmf
It's a guy in a suit with a DHS badge who shows up at your door and says "you
need to drop off the Net right now or the terrorists will win". Or maybe it's
a phone call, but over the phone it's hard to tell real cops from Elbonian
pranksters.

Edit: I'm not joking; this is my understanding of how the system is supposed
to work.

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noja
I wish someone would make a shutoff switch for Congress, or at least an auto-
shutoff for anyone sneaking anything into a bill where it doesn't belong.

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sabat
This made me think immediately of John Gilmore's quote about censorship: "The
Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it."

[edit] Also: hmm, maybe we should create a Congress Kill Switch -- shut down
Congress when it panders to corporate interests.

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lionhearted
> shut down Congress when it panders to corporate interests.

You can replace "corporate interests" with "any factional interests" and the
sentiment becomes even more true.

All sorts of organizations try to use the government to further their interest
and bludgeon their enemies - religious organizations, nonprofits, world
governments, state governments, unions, public companies, banks, activist
groups, and so on. None of these groups should be able to use the government
to their advantage against free citizens.

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sabat
Well said.

