Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) introduced a bill in the Senate on April 1st calling for sweeping powers for federal regulators to “secure cyber communications.” The Cybersecurity Act of 2009 (S.773) would give government authority over all networks considered part of the nation’s critical infrastructure.

The usual threats and scare tactics are used to justify giving Big Brother greater powers, including giving the President the power to shut down portions of the internet he deems a threat to national security, and access to vast amounts of digital data currently legally off limits.

Industry experts criticize the pervasive intrusion into private business standards and practices that would result from some of the finer points of the legislation, including a section that grants government exclusive licensing rights to IT professionals.

Here are the basics:

1. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards development and compliance.
2. Licensing and certification of IT professionals.
3. Regulation of domain name contracts.
4. Executive authority to “shut down the Internet” when in interests of national security.

The bill is still in its infancy being referred to Committee, so now is the time to stop it! Take the time to write or call each of your Congressional representatives. You can look up your representatives’ name and contact information using this tool.

Here is a sample letter you can cut and paste to use as your own:

Details of the Cybersecurity Act of 2009 (S.773) have recently come to my attention. I am writing to voice my utter contempt for this proposed legislation and wish to document opposition to what I consider unacceptable expansion of federal authority into the cyber domain.

S.773 would give the federal government excessive power in regulating the Internet. The power to unilaterally shut down private networks, to garnish unprecedented digital data currently outside the realm of legal authority, and intrusion into commercial practices of professional certification are unacceptable.

Please take serious consideration in evaluating this measure. I urge you to support freedom of the Internet, individual privacy in digital information, and continue to let the private sector make certification and employment decisions without federal coercion.

We must actively fight the erosion of liberty and individual freedom, preserving the values that made this country great. Thank you for your time!

Take a moment to leave a comment below to voice your support for this movement!

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Watch Sen. Rockefeller discuss the bill below. It is not at all evident he truly understands what he’s talking about, yet this man wields power to control us all:

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