This week, as Americans were horrified by the attacks in Boston, both houses
of Congress considered legislation undermining our liberty in the name of "safety." Gun
control continued to be the focus of the Senate, where an amendment expanding
federal "background checks" to gun show sales and other private transfers
dominated the debate. While the background check amendment failed to pass,
proponents of gun control have made it clear they will continue their efforts
to enact new restrictions on gun ownership into law.
While it did not receive nearly as much attention as the debate on gun control,
the House of Representatives passed legislation with significant implications
for individual liberty: the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act
(CISPA). CISPA proponents claim that the legislation is necessary to protect
Americans from foreign "cyber terrorists," but the real effect of this bill
will be to further erode Americans' online privacy.
Under CISPA, Internet corporations are authorized to hand over the private
information of American citizens to federal agents, as long as they can justify
the violation of your privacy in the name of protecting "cyber security".
Among the items that may be shared are your e-mails, browsing history, and
online transactions.
Like the PATRIOT Act, CISPA violates the fourth amendment by allowing federal
agencies to obtain private information without first seeking a warrant from
a federal judge. The law also allows federal agencies to pass your information
along to other federal bureaucrats -- again without obtaining a warrant. And
the bill provides private companies with immunity from lawsuits regardless
of the damage done to anyone whose personal information is shared with the
government.
CISPA represents a troubling form of corporatism, where large companies cede
their responsibility to protect their property to the federal government,
at the expense of their customers' privacy and liberty. In this respect, CISPA
can be thought of as an electronic version of the Transportation Security
Administration, which has usurped the authority over airline security from
private airlines. However, CISPA will prove to be far more invasive than even
the most robust TSA screening.
CISPA and the gun control bill are only the most recent examples of politicians
manipulating fear to con the people into giving up their liberties. Of course,
the people are told the legislation is for "limited purposes," but authority
granted to government is rarely, if ever, used solely for the purpose for
which it is granted. For example, the American people were promised that the
extraordinary powers granted the government by the PATRIOT Act would only
be used against terrorism. Yet soon after the bill became law, reports surfaced
that it was being used for non-terrorism purposes. In fact, according to data
compiled by the American Civil Liberties Union, 76 percent of the uses of
the controversial "sneak-and-peak" warrants where related to the war on drugs!
Sadly, I expect this week's tragic attacks in Boston to be used to justify
new restrictions on liberty. Within 48 hours of the attack in Boston, at least
one Congressman was calling for increased use of surveillance cameras to expand
the government's ability to monitor our actions, while another Senator called
for a federal law mandating background checks before Americans can buy "explosive
powder."
I would not be surprised if the Transportation Security Administration uses
this tragedy to claim new authority to "screen" Americans before they can
attend sporting or other public events. The Boston attack may also be used
as another justification for creating a National ID Card tied to a federal
database with "biometric" information. The only thing that will stop them
is if the American people rediscover the wisdom of Benjamin Franklin that
you cannot achieve security by allowing government to take their liberties.
