Senate Passes Cybersecurity Bill, Which Would Extend the Surveillance Capabilities of Government Intelligence Agencies While Doing Little to Prevent Hacks

The legislation, introduced by Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, would enable companies to share data with agencies and other businesses through an information storehouse maintained by the Department of Homeland Security. The Senate on Tuesday ultimately rejected amendments that would both address privacy concerns and potentially create more channels to enable companies to share data directly with agencies besides DHS.

Senate Passes Cybersecurity Threat Sharing Bill That Tech Hates

October 27, 2015

TechCrunch - In a crushing blow to the tech industry and privacy advocates, the Senate today passed the controversial Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA).

The bill, which passed the Senate on a 74-21 bipartisan vote, is intended to allow companies to share information about cybersecurity threats with the government. However, critics, particularly those in the tech industry, say the bill will extend the surveillance capabilities of government intelligence agencies while doing little to prevent hacks.

The bill has already passed the House of Representatives. The White House backs CISA, and it will likely sign the bill into law.

Prior to the bill’s passage on Tuesday, senators fought for amendments that would reign in CISA and offer more privacy protections. However, all amendments intended to increase the removal of personal information from threats failed. Senators adopted a 10-year sunset clause for the bill, though privacy advocates like Senator Al Franken hoped the bill would expire in six.

Though the bill was expected to pass, today’s vote was a huge setback for tech’s lobbying efforts on surveillance issues. In the wake of the revelations of former government contractor Edward Snowden, large tech companies have pushed the government to curtail surveillance practices, most recently with the passage of the USA FREEDOM Act.