U.S. Government Proposes "Internet Kill Switch"

[Carnagath]

Oh man, I lol'd. Ok, hold on a second. First of all, they obviously need to be aware of an ongoing attack... and they are going to stop it by killing the INTERNET? That's like killing a mosquito with a tactical nuclear strike. Was this suggested by Al Gore or does the US government actually employ monkeys in their counter-terrorist departments? Network security experts around the world are peeing themselves with laughter right now, I can guarantee you that. Also, "hacking" a bank or a military or government network is impossible in 2010. I'm pretty sure they know that! So, there is obviously a different agenda behind this hilarious proposition, and, whatever it is, I can't say I like it.

 

[open trap]

I hope they dont do this, infact i will start a new terrorist gropup if they do, any one want to join me.

 

[Arachon]

"Cyber-9/11"? Have these people got the slightest clue to how the Internet works? What a hacker does? What information security is?

These people come off as technophobic Luddites to me, if a hack- sorry, I mean "cyber-terrorist" manages to gain administrator access to something vital, then not only has whatever agency that's in charge of the US info- I mean "cyber-security" systems (NSA?) failed their job quite monumentally, but "switching off" the Internet won't fucking work.

 

[AcidLillies]

I saw "Cyber 9/11".
I lol'd terribly.
I scrolled down.
Similar opinion.

I have no compassion for the crap that regularly comes out of high ranking American (world, more like) politicians.

 

[TheTurtleMan]

Does anyone seriously think that this bill is some sort of government plot for power that was all agreed upon by the president and the rest of the senators? Because if you do then you are fucking stupid. This was just one crazy senator that everyone in our country hates in the first place. What if some representative in Britain pushed for a bill that orders everyone over two hundred pounds to go to a work camp? The blame wouldn't fall on the country, just the crazy assclown who proposed the bill.

Also, why do people cry about losing freedom when being able to propose such an absurd bill only shows how much freedom America gives and people take advantage of. Maybe most of you should have read the whole article and come up with something better than a kindergardeners interpretation of while the American government is full of shit.

I bet you are one of those people that thinks we are in iraq to fight the "terrorists" and find "osama bin laden" and not to make a bunch of white guys rich from oil and the sale of military supplies to the government.

I bet you also think it's ok that if you are labeled a "terrorist" by the government that they can hold you as long as they want, even without proof, and deny you a fair trial.

I could go on and on about how the government is taking away our freedoms legally because people with no brains did nothing, but I wont.

Bottom line is, the internet is a powerful tool that should not be allowed to have an off switch.

At no point did I say that I supported the idea of a switch like that and when I said the thing about freedom, I meant that it was messed up that people like that should even be allowed in congress. By the way, did you just pull all that stuff about terrorists and stealing freedom out of your ass? Because most of it has nothing to do with the thread or what I put on my post. It's also very ignorant for people like you that live in America to complain about the lack of freedom and injustice when we're one of the most privelaged nations in the world.

 

[Atmos Duality]

Have you watched Doctor Who? This is going to be the virtual Ostehagen key.

Basically, in DW, aliens have taken over the world. The Ostehagen key is where the suffering of the planet becomes too great to bear, and it must be destroyed to end the suffering.

This internet switch-off button is like that - only used in cases of extreme emergencies. It disturbs me greatly that people think that it would be used at the bat of an eyelash.

Sadly, I have not watched Dr. Who.

Though since we're using clever analogies, I'll propose one here; this killswitch is the digital form of a tactical nuke. It's a weapon of mass destruction that could be used to threaten or coerce entities the globe over into compliance with whatever the US government wants.

It's existence carries more significance than the likelihood of it actually being used; similar to the nuclear standoff between Russia and the United States during the Cold War.
Hence, my previous statement about "fighting terror by creating it".

Rather, instead of ending life as we know it via mutually assured destruction, the killswitch will cripple the world's economy (make no mistake, America's economy will plummet too), having consequences that are impossible to predict long term.
But so long as nobody pushes that button, world peace can endure...as long as you play nice with the US Government.

Additionally, by seizing control of the ISPs through bullshit emergency powers, the government can, effectively, declare martial law on my country and control all our major businesses through legal duress.

It's naive indeed to give a single entity so much power, and expect them not to use it towards their own ends; because that's human nature.

 

[Busdriver580]

Senator palpatin- .... I mean Lieberman strikes again!

 

[ZippyDSMlee]

Can we haz a goverment kill switch first? you know you cast a vote once every year if more than 50% of the public votes yes everyone in the House,Senate and presidential office/cabinet,ect get fired with no pension and re elections are held ASAP all that matters the same people are not in office anymore.......

 

[FieryTrainwreck]

I am super late to the party on this one, but someone has started work on a GIF of a plane flying into a server tower, right?

 

[hannan4mitch]

More idiotic politicians (actually, I think this enters punditry territory) making plans for something (which they believe is ingenious) that would make matters worse than the act they were supposed to prevent (anybody thinking about the Prohibition?). Did this guy even THINK about the repercussions of turning off the internet? Because alot of important businesses rely on the internet. Turning off the internet could damage commerce in the USA, and if the off switch is left on too long, global commerce could take a heavy beating.

 

[Atmos Duality]

More idiotic politicians (actually, I think this enters punditry territory) making plans for something (which they believe is ingenious) that would make matters worse than the act they were supposed to prevent (anybody thinking about the Prohibition?). Did this guy even THINK about the repercussions of turning off the internet? Because alot of important businesses rely on the internet. Turning off the internet could damage commerce in the USA, and if the off switch is left on too long, global commerce could take a heavy beating.

From what I can understand, Mr. Lieberman is still living in the Cold War; and thinks anyone who doesn't understand the "real and present danger" (see what I did there?) from his era is asking for trouble.

Now, I'm all about proactive defense or trying to prevent problems before they happen, but if the measures being taken are worse than the alleged danger (which may not even exist at all) they are meant to stop, it's definitely a bad plan.

Either Mr. Lieberman doesn't have a goddamn clue about the connotations of what he's actually proposing, or he's gone mad.
Whether it's mad for power, or just regular batshit bonkers...well, I cannot say for certain.
It's just bad either way.

 

[Clockwork Ninja]

Dear Senator Lieberman,
You're why foreigners hate us.
Is this legal?, in the U.S. at least?
You probably can't do this to other countries,
Good luck convincing every other senator.
Good luck convincing the hundreds in the house of Representatives.
This will make many, many citizens angry.

 

[McNinja]

This is retarded, to say the least. There is no way to completely "shut down" the internet, unless every company on the planet with websites and such complied. That will never happen, and I hope this bill get shut down in the most extavagant way possible.

 

[Vohn_exel]

The internet is waaaay too integrated with our society now, in my opinion. Turning it off for even a day would be like...um...a bad thing. I'm too tired for similes right now. I mean seriously, if the internet were to go down for a day, THAT would be the "cyber 9-11" that they're so afraid of.

 

[Timotei]

This is possibly the stupidest fucking bill ever conceived in the whole history of congress.

I honestly had points to share to argue against this, but I am too clouded by rage and shock over the fact such an asinine law was proposed.

 

[Brnin8]

I'm assuming a cyber 9/11 would be an email sent to everyone in the US that is just a Goatse or other shocker image.

This whole seems completely ridiculous, the internet is a global thing one not one country owns it, so no country should be able to turn it off.

 

[CriticalGriffin]

The idea propably sounds good on paper, but how will they accomplish this without deleting information thus angering 98% of the human population is beyond me. Not to mention getting the agreement of every nation in the world that uses the internet.

Then again, we can probably get rid of 4chan. And anyone who can get rid of 4chan deserves a high five and a drink.

 

[infinity_turtles]

"government and industrial secrets"? Really?! Haven't these guys heard of this wonderful thing called a closed network? No? Then why the hell are they proposing laws that have anything to do with the internet!?

 

[Helmutye]

The thing I find funny is that the people behind this are mostly old geezers who probably don't understand the internet very well. Has anyone considered that the mayhem that would ensue from shutting down large sections of the internet would probably be worse than any act of cyber-sabotage that anyone could conceive of? Seriously, if I were a cyber-terrorist (doesn't that term 'cyber' sound really quaint in this day and age?) and wanted to cause a problem, I would be TRYING to shut down large sections of the internet. But with stuff like this our own government will be doing the work for them. Can you imagine how many false alarms we're going to have? And while whatever government agency is in charge of this spends millions of dollars setting up the system hacker gangs will be able to cause chaos across the world by just writing code that simulates terrorist activity and triggers a reflexive shutdown.

Like with 9-11, the real damage wasn't done by the terrorists. It was done by the US trying to react to the terrorists. You know how conservatives are always bragging about how Reagen won the Cold War by forcing the Soviets into an arms race that their economy couldn't support? THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT THE TERRORISTS ARE DOING NOW!

Have you ever heard of the classic redneck senior prank? You get three pigs, grease them up, and paint the numbers 1, 2, and 4 on them, and then set them loose in the school. Even after the teachers find all the pigs, they will spend a lot of extra time looking for the "third" pig that doesn't really exist. The terrorists have pulled that on the US, but in order to make sure that "third" pig doesn't stay loose we have, in the world of this analogy, burned the entire school down.