U.S. Government Proposes "Internet Kill Switch"

[chiggerwood]

I say we all press this little button here

Also "cyber 9/11" Ms. collins you're a dick. Done venting. Now for some intelligence

I am seriously sick and tired of my government wanting to gain more and more power. I saw crap like this coming down the line when the tried to get net neutrality passed (it thankfully didn't). At least this is obviously bullshit. Let this be a lesson to all Don't take anything at face value especially now with the oil crisis.

 

[mayney93]

this will not please 4chan

indeed
4chan is quite displeased

i would say the rest of the internet is displeased but to be honest 4chan is the only site that seems to actively do something, not just talk about it.

 

[Cody211282]

Oh my good lord. I can see it now, so we'll lose words in our language and they'll be able to listen to us threw our TVs. If anyone gets what I'm referencing I will be surprised.

1984.

Although this sounds like another knee-jerk reactionary scare story to me.

It might be, but with how any laws that have passed in the last 20 years to up the federal governments power I wouldn't be surprised if this was being worked up.

 

[reyttm4]

...all at risk from new kinds of enemies - cyber-warriors, cyber-spies, cyber-terrorists and cyber-criminals."

But not the cyber-samurai, We're safe from those right?

Anyway, a killswitch to the internet would be a killswitch to me.

 

[Dogstile]

Oh yeah?

Well the US government can suck my cock.

Damn right!

How amazingly self-centred of them... That would disrupt internet commerce the world over!

I'm all for increased levels of security online... but that's just going way too far.

Oh noes! the government can shut down the internet if a full-scale cyber-attack would have occur!

the horror...

But seriously, i think national security is more important that finishing a game of TF2.

Edit:

Surely turning off the internet during a time of crisis would worsen things? Most people rely on electronic news sources these days. I mean for example:

Crisis 1: Terrorists denote an explosive
Internet gets turned off: People assume the internet is broken because the Russopeans/Chapanese/Islamistanis have BLOWN UP THE DATA CENTRES! IT'S AN INVASION! GET YOUR GUN! SHOOT ANYONE IN A UNIFORM!

Crisis 2: A small earthquake
Internet gets turned off: IT'S A SUPERQUAKE! WASHINGTON HAS BEEN DESTROYED! GET YOUR GUN! SHOOT THE GROUND! IT'S THE ONLY WAY TO STOP THE SANDWORMS!

I could go on.

It doesn't help that "Lieberman" really sounds like the name you'd give a Bond villain.

THEY WOULD NOT TURN OF THE INTERNET IF SOME TERRORIST WOULD DETONATE A BOMB.

I get that people like to scream "1984!" every time the government does ANYTHING but this is just bordering on sheer stupidity.

You assume most people just don't like it because it would inconvenience them, but seriously dude, think about it.

USA thinks they're under attack, so they switch off the internet.
Now every country is losing money because of this, and actually attack america for doing so.
Que world war.

Extreme example, sure, but pretty much this disrupts every internet business in the world and gives it control over these businesses.

Go america! Land of the free my ass...

 

[jpoon]

This is bullshit, this president is out of his fucking mind. Fuck this government and all the fuckwads in it.

 

[ma55ter_fett]

People are reacting like at the drop of the hat they would turn off the internet. The people running this are probably smarter than you think and would only do something this serious in case of an emergency.

Leiberman is not smarter than I think and he is completely untrustworthy. Look at his record in the senate, he never votes with his party (he's a democrat though you wouldn't know it) on important issues, he switches parties (more than once) to get re-elected, and he thinks republican shit smells like sparking ice water with a twist of lime.

Simply put he's like that politican in all the movies who turns out to be an asshole whose sleeping with crack whores and foreign weapons dealers.

This is bullshit, this president is out of his fucking mind. Fuck this government and all the fuckwads in it.

Its not president Obama whose behind this its senator lieberman, who though he calls himself a democrat is really just a republican dressed like a jackass to fool all the democratic voters.

 

[Mcface]

Whaaaaaaaaaat?

This is insane. I cannot think of any event that is even remotely feasible that would require the entire internet to be turned off.

Terrorists.
and Communists.

 

[Loop Stricken]

...
. . .
Good Lord, no.

Wait, is that just the American internets or the whole damn thing?

 

[psychosiszz]

Another infringement on freedom of speech, why would you need to shut down every service provider and search engine to protect your assets?
surely you could just disconnect the assets without doing that. Just seems like this is an excuse for when crisis's like the BP oil spill, hurricanes and etc they can black-out any bad press regarding the US government.

 

[Danny Ocean]

I really am flabbergasted by the amount of anti-government sentiment here. You Americans really don't trust governments, do you?

It's truly astonishing, but then I am British. It's funny. Our constitution isn't codified, but stuff like this still doesn't fly here. I think that says a lot about how trustworthy government can be.

Another infringement on freedom of speech, why would you need to shut down every service provider and search engine to protect your assets?
surely you could just disconnect the assets without doing that. Just seems like this is an excuse for when crisis's like the BP oil spill, hurricanes and etc they can black-out any bad press regarding the US government.

Virus is released onto the internet. Government disconnects assets, cripples self. Virus spreads through rest of national intranet. Government plugs assets back in. Fuck.

That's why. If I can think it up in about three seconds, I think trained professionals sure as hell can.

 

[Section-9]

While completely unfeasible, irritating, and overall dumb, this couldn't happen.

If the President of the United States said, "I'm turning the internet off," depending on if this affected only domestic or international computer services, there could be an international uprising. Not to mention the political backlash that would undoubtedly come from the modern community...

If this could and did happen, it would never happen again. That entire cabinet would be voted out like that *Snaps fingers*

And thinking about it, they could do it. Of course, they couldn't take down the network. But they could shut down all ISPs for the duration of whatever incident would actually prompt some such nonsense.

 

[drkchmst]

Sooo...can I go to my ISP when/if the internet is cut off and ask to be credited for the days i'm not getting the service i'm paying for? Kind of have to agree with a comment way up there about cutting off communication. This is the main route for me to get news and the like. Either this is just another r-tarded bill going through the normal government BS or its an attempt to boost print media sales. Journalism Bailout

 

[Mcface]

I get that people like to scream "1984!" every time the government does ANYTHING but this is just bordering on sheer stupidity.

That's what they want you to think! Luckily, they can't get me through my tinfoil hat.

But on a serious note, the government should not be given more power, they have too many already. They want to control our health care, tighter gun control, blah blah blah. I know it's been said a thousand times.. But it's a real possibility.

 

[Mcface]

You all misread it. We would be turning the internet off, combining it's energy into a warhead, and launching it at the Russians, sending them into a separate galaxy, leaving a permanent "AMERICA WAS HERE" imprint on their left ass cheek.

 

[HellbirdIV]

Calling potential threats "Cyber-warriors" just robbed this guy of any credibility he might have had.

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

Whaaaaaaaaaat?

This is insane. I cannot think of any event that is even remotely feasible that would require the entire internet to be turned off.

Terrorists.
and Communists.

Here was me thinking that after 60 years, the affects of McCarthyism might have worn off.

How wrong was I?

 

[cobra_ky]

Lieberman is basically the Kim Jong-Il of Congress. every once in a while he'll do something stupid and crazy just for attention and to remind people he's "independent".

He's reached Ted Stevens levels of stupidity now, though, especially since shutting down the entire internet is pretty much the best-case scenario of most cyber-attacks.

 

[Mr. Gency]

If they have to do something like that, at least install a on button.

 

[LeonLethality]

People are reacting like at the drop of the hat they would turn off the internet. The people running this are probably smarter than you think and would only do something this serious in case of an emergency.

Leiberman is not smarter than I think and he is completely untrustworthy. Look at his record in the senate, he never votes with his party (he's a democrat though you wouldn't know it) on important issues, he switches parties (more than once) to get re-elected, and he thinks republican shit smells like sparking ice water with a twist of lime.

Simply put he's like that politican in all the movies who turns out to be an asshole whose sleeping with crack whores and foreign weapons dealers.

Because it is clearly obvious that he, himself gets to call this, by himself, with nobody else getting a say. Yes that makes perfect sense.