Senators propose granting president emergency internet power

CNET reports that a new U.S. Senate bill would grant the president far-reaching emergency powers to seize control of or even shut down portions of the internet. The legislation announced June 10 says that companies such as broadband providers, search engines, or software firms that the government selects “shall immediately comply with any emergency measure or action developed” by the Department of Homeland Security. Anyone failing to comply would be fined. That emergency authority would allow the federal government to “preserve those networks and assets and our country and protect our people,” Joe Lieberman, the primary sponsor of the measure and the chairman of the Homeland Security committee, told reporters on June 10. Lieberman is an independent senator from Connecticut who caucuses with the Democrats. Because there are few limits on the president’s emergency power, which can be renewed indefinitely, the densely worded 197-page bill is likely to encounter stiff opposition…

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Consumer groups say proposed privacy bill is flawed

A long-awaited draft of a Congressional bill would extend privacy protections both on the internet and offline, but privacy advocates said the bill does not go far enough in protecting consumers, reports the New York Times. The draft legislation was released May 4 by Reps. Rick Boucher, D-Va., and Cliff Stearns, R-Fla. The two lawmakers will collect comments on the draft and hope to have formal legislation introduced within a month or so. Consumer groups have been fighting what they see as the prevalence of online tracking, where online advertising is targeted for a certain user. Right now, there is no national legislation governing how companies tell consumers that they are collecting data, but companies do post privacy notices because certain state laws require it. The proposed bill would expand what information should be considered confidential, and it would require companies to post clear and understandable privacy notices when they collect information. In a conference call with reporters, however, representatives from privacy and consumer groups said the draft included several loopholes that might let companies track consumers too closely…

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