Lieberman Clarifies That He's Not Really Giving Obama An Internet Kill Switch

from the calm-down dept

A bunch of folks have been submitting various stories, like this one sent in by cc, saying that Senator Joe Lieberman is trying to give Obama an internet kill switch. We didn't cover it because it's quite exaggerated. We actually had already covered the new legislation in a post a couple weeks ago, and while we disagree both with the legislation and the need for such legislation, exaggerating what it's about does no one any good. However, it does seem that all of the negative publicity has Lieberman quickly trying to clarify what the bill really means and make it clear that it does not actually give the federal government any sort of "kill switch." The idea is just that, if there actually is an attack from a certain country, there's more of a coordinated plan to reroute traffic.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: cyberterror, cyberwar, interent, joe lieberman, kill switch


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  • icon
    Blatant Coward (profile), 22 Jun 2010 @ 3:38am

    First thing we do is...

    We need to block all them terrorizors from 127.0.0.1 those folks are godless and nasty!

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Closet Coward, 22 Jun 2010 @ 5:42am

      Re: First thing we do is...

      I KNOW RIGHT! I was just sayin how them rag heads keep trying to get into my AOL!

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 22 Jun 2010 @ 6:43am

      Re: First thing we do is...

      It is a shame they can't clarify the need for the bill by illustrating how many hundreds, and perhaps thousands of times a day China attacks government and federal contractor networks. They aren't just going after Google....

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Berenerd (profile), 22 Jun 2010 @ 5:41am

    IMHO...

    When I seem to be getting pinged to death from an unknown source, my first reaction is to get off the internet.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Improbus (profile), 22 Jun 2010 @ 6:29am

    Joe

    Anything that makes Joe look bad makes me happy. He is a loathsome induhvidual who I wish would have a stroke or heart attack. Like the one I always wished for Dick Cheney.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 22 Jun 2010 @ 7:30am

    I guess that means they cant watch youtube videos while performing "cyber-warfare". Dang.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    kid mercury (profile), 23 Jun 2010 @ 7:44am

    the attack "from another country" is more likely to be a state-sponsored event. this article is missing lots of important contextual information which, if included, would help illustrate the need for vigilance in light of lieberman's comments.

    here is an article with many links that can provide important contextual information regarding the US government's repeated desire to exert greater regulatory control over the internet.

    http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/june2008/061108_kill_internet.htm

    the US government has repeatedly stated false flag attacks to justify its attempts for greater control. from this perspective viewing lieberman's comments with suspicion and vigilance is not irrational panicking but rather a rational response based on an informed analysis of history.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    lrobbo (profile), 12 Jun 2012 @ 11:30am

    How many? Watch Fox news.

    link to this | view in chronology ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.