What if one day the whole Internet shut down? No more blogging, surfing, skyping, tweeting, Facebook or for you lovers out there, cybersex. The entire livelihood of some people depend on it's very existence. Some of you may be thinking there is no way that this could happen. Senator Joe Lieberman would kindly ask you to think otherwise.
In the bill that he is sponsoring, a provision would be given to the President to essentially flip the switch on the Internet. The bill entitled Protecting Cyberspace as as National Asset Act (PCNAA), would require Internet Service Providers (ISP's), search engines and software firms to shut down business in the event of a cyber terrorist attack. Talk about a buzz kill when surfing the net for Fantasy Football stats.
Is this another knee jerk reaction in response to 9/11 or is this something that should be strongly considered? Are we drawing nearer and nearer to a totalitarian government? The beauty of the Internet is the vast freedom of access to information one gains from its usage. Just as the Patriot Act became a doorway to full government access with a hint of suspicion, the PCNAA could signal the end of a person's right to surf freely without Uncle Sam having access to their every keystroke.
Some will argue that the government has been doing it all along - monitoring each of us secretly under the guise of protection against terrorism. I want to feel safe as much as the next person but not at the expense of privacy. So next time you log on, think about what it could mean if the Internet shut down. Hopes, dreams, and dollars could all go down the drain at the flip of the switch.
I leave you with a scene from the movie Enemy Of The State starring Will Smith and Gene Hackman. They say art imitates life. Let's hope in the case of cyber privacy, it does not.
2 comments:
Yes.
I read about this last week. It doesn't seem likely that if such bill pass, there will come a time where a kill switch is exercised.
From all the things America undergoes on the daily, and it hasn't been shut down yet, then I am not sure if it will ever be.
Are we drawing nearer and nearer to a totalitarian government? I believe so.
Oh. Riss! Don't get me started on the Patriot Act! The things I learned firsthand in '06 concerning "access to information" at the hands of the government.
Trust me, it is so real.
@Don...It blows my mind how far the government is trying to push it's agenda in every inch of society. I would be hella pissed if such a day should come when the internet shut down.
I'm just waiting on Marshal law to go into effect just because the government feels we need to be chaperoned.
They are just getting started...
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