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Codebreaker

Let the CISPA spin begin: lawmakers insist it’s nothing like SOPA

John Moe Apr 11, 2012
Codebreaker

Let the CISPA spin begin: lawmakers insist it’s nothing like SOPA

John Moe Apr 11, 2012


Some of the groups behind the grass roots movement that effectively killed the Stop Online Piracy Act and the PROTECT IP Act seem to be turning its attention to stopping another controversial bit of legislation. Now, the lawmakers who wrote and sponsored the legislation are scrambling to avoid being painted with the scarlet letter S for similarities to SOPA.
The Hill says:

Critics who compare the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) to SOPA are “comparing apples and oranges,” said Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.

Preventing online piracy and securing the nation’s infrastructure are “two very different things,” he said.

CISPA is designed to let the government share information, classified and non-classified, with private industry as a way of pooling data to prevent hacks and security breaches. Those companies are invited to participate as well, on a voluntary basis. The legislation is sparking concerns that this opens the door for a sort of government-industrial complex that spies on citizens.
What’s still unclear is whether the bill is provocative enough to spark the kind of reactions SOPA got. It doesn’t seem likely but then again an enormous outcry over copyright legislation wouldn’t seem to be all that compelling. 

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