One of the Senate’s strongest liberals slammed cybersecurity legislation set for a vote on Tuesday for failing to implement privacy protections.
“It is critical that, in deciding how to protect our information networks, we also continue to protect the fundamental privacy rights and civil liberties of Americans,” Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., said in prepared remarks on the Senate floor Thursday. “Unfortunately, as it now stands, the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act falls short.”
Franken’s position puts him in the company of a diverse group of senators that includes Rand Paul, R-Ky., Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. Privacy advocates in both parties, fueled by ideological opposition to the legislation, have found rare common ground in their battle to defeat it.
The bill would release companies from liability if they share personal information about their customers with the federal government. Advocates of the bill say that under its terms, companies should share only broad information about cybersecurity threats, and strip out personal customer information.
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However, if companies “accidentally” share something that violates their contract with customers, they are to be freed from civil liability. Critics of the legislation say that makes it more of a surveillance than a security bill.
“Companies are free to share directly with whomever they may choose, including law enforcement and military intelligence agencies,” Franken added. “This means that — unbeknownst to their customers — companies may share information that contains customers’ personal information with NSA, FBI and others.”
The House passed its equivalent of the bill, the National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement Act, in April. However, that bill authorized only “information sharing” with one agency at the Department of Homeland Security.
“That information-sharing bill only authorizes sharing with the government through a single civilian hub at the Department of Homeland Security — a move toward efficient streamlining of information that is also good for privacy,” Franken said.
On Tuesday, the White House issued a statement supporting that view. “The administration remains concerned that the bill’s authorization to share with any federal entity, notwithstanding any other provision of law, weakens the bill’s requirement that information be shared with a civilian entity,” the statement said. “This remains a significant concern, and the administration is eager to work with the Congress to seek a workable solution.”
If the Senate passes the bill on Tuesday, it will need to reconcile differences between its bill and the version that passed the House before it can reach the president’s desk.
