U.S. Government Proposes "Internet Kill Switch"

[Agayek]

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 isn't exactly unheard of...

Besides, everyone loves them some Orwellian dictatorships.

 

[nipsen]

"Oh, no", they say. "Americans are not mad", they say. "You just gotta have faith", they say. "People are dumb everywhere", they say.

And that's fine - but do you have to elect every damned one of them into office?

 

[jackknife402]

This story has already been on the escapist once before I thought....

 

[Fensfield]

As someone else said.. how unbelievably self-centred (given a lot of traffic routes through America to everywhere else).

I wonder how likely it is the rest of the world will respond by centralising their internet assets so that America can't screw over their economies during something they consider an 'incident'.

 

[The Austin]

WHAT!?!??!?

One VERY important part about my Apocalypse survival plans was "Contact fellow survivors on the Escapist"

What am I supposed to do now?
LOOK for fellow survivors? HELL NO!

 

[Lazy Kitty]

Well, they better only shut it down in th US.

 

[2fish]

My internet personas just ceded from the union. We must plan ahead; build an underground internet for the resistance to use. My government has provoked the internet; we must consider our rights while we have them!

However on a logical note I would allow this if there was one line added, "The American people get a "kill switch" on Congress's pay due to the threat that they may misspend their money and hurt their family?s economic future". So all of Congress gets paid or no one gets paid or it could be state by state.

 

[Ensiferum]

As a Conservative Libertarian I'm completely opposed to this. How many freedoms do we have to sacrifice in order to be what the government considers "safe?" This has the potential to be even worse than the patriot act.

Net Neutrality FTW.

 

[Agayek]

I could have sworn Lieberman was an Independent Democrat. So wouldn't he be left wing? Or is that the problem? I haven't paid much attention with politics, they've increasingly made me jaded and depressed.

Both of the major political parties in the US are becoming more and more similar, so it doesn't much matter. The fact of the matter is, it's irrelevant which "side" it comes from. All the matters is that he's scaremongering in a fairly pathetic and transparent attempt to increase the power of the federal government. It's foolishness at it's finest, or worst as the case may be.

 

[londelen]

I hate when stuff like this happens.

 

[YourlocalPCsnob]

Need I say it?
ITS A CONSPIRACY!!11!!1!1!!!

 

[Kukakkau]

What? Don't do that! What if he gets pissed at a modern warfare kid calling his mum a whore? The world would suffer the presidents rage quit wrath...

 

[sougo13]

"preserve those networks and assets and our country and protect our people."

Yep, because the internet clearly exist only for America.

 

[Shynobee]

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.

even if some hackers in another country managed to gain control of the US economic assests via the internet? Some one hacks into the NY Stock Exchange database? Someone gains control of TEH NUKEZ?!?!?!?

Now I realize that the last one is far fetched, but the other 2 are quite possible. With more and more of the US' military assets being stored on computers, there are more risks being made.

Really, if you can't imagine a single scenario in which the internet can be abused, you need to watch more movies.

 

[Brandon237]

One cyber-pres. having complete cyber-control of my interwebz...
...
...
...No

This is madness, at the press of one cyber-button he can end my whole cyber-parade...
...
...
...NO

I think I make myself clear enough, well, that's my 2 cyber-cents worth.

 

[Kuilui]

They've been proposing this garbage for a year now. Its just so Obama can sink his vile little hands into even more of our lives. Its not even because of this but this is the first president I've actually been afraid of to an extent. I don't trust this guy, not even a little. I knew when he was banging on about hope and change and all that other nonsense it was all garbage. Shocker I was right. Hope everyone here in America enjoys the massive tax hikes that are coming in 2011 because Obama didn't reinstate Bushes tax cuts.

 

[Vash108]

We must alert Al Gore and tell him his invention may be in danger!

 

[Mr. Grey]

I could have sworn Lieberman was an Independent Democrat. So wouldn't he be left wing? Or is that the problem? I haven't paid much attention with politics, they've increasingly made me jaded and depressed.

Both of the major political parties in the US are becoming more and more similar, so it doesn't much matter. The fact of the matter is, it's irrelevant which "side" it comes from. All the matters is that he's scaremongering in a fairly pathetic and transparent attempt to increase the power of the federal government. It's foolishness at it's finest, or worst as the case may be.

He certainly isn't making the incumbents look good, which is something he might want to do if he wants to keep his job.

 

[mrF00bar]

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.

I do, I forget what the book is called though.

It's definitely 1984. The giveaway is the loss of words in the language.

*Gives Cookie*

 

[Chris^^]

fair enough, i think thats quite a good idea

lolwut

i'm quite opposed to free speech without moderation

but more OT i think that if theres a danger of national security being compromised leaders should have the ability to do everything it takes to prevent such an occurence