Cybersecurity bill splits companies

A new Senate cybersecurity bill would make it easier for companies to share information on cyberattacks with the federal government. 

“I think it has to be done in a way that does respect the privacy and trust of the users,” says Marc Rotenberg, Executive Director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center.

Rotenberg is especially concerned because any customer information companies shared with the Department Of Homeland Security would also go to the NSA. 

“If I’m using Google search or Facebook I don’t think my information should be going to the NSA,” he says.

This is a big problem for tech companies like Google.

“For some companies that have a lot of internet users, it would be really hard to get behind this bill,” says Gregory Nojeim, senior counsel at the Center for Democracy and Technology.

But other firms that don’t interact so directly with the public like the Senate bill. Among them? Defense contractor Lockheed Martin. It signed onto a letter sent to lawmakers last week, in support of the bill.