Thread: Vote : Stop Internet Censorship

I can't find a local link for it... but the news said "anonymous" did it due to a story they (wfaa 8) did last week about a wylie police officer on suspension for something to do with child porn. I know this has nothing to do with SOPA, but it does involve "anonymous" so I put it here.

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.s...t_down_sy.html

See also http://www.bigbigforums.com/news-inf...rity-bill.html

Obama Claims Search And Seizure Rights Over The Internet
Posted on February 15 2013

For once, Congress actually did their job. The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) was killed when Americans expressed their disapproval of privacy violations, and the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) was also shelved last year after negotiations broke down. Both pieces of legislation have names that sound positive but don’t be fooled–like many government programs, they are the exact opposite of that in reality and will do absolutely nothing to improve our nation’s security. We are pleased that in both cases, Congress listened to the American people, the majority of who were opposed to these privacy-killing regulations.

But that doesn’t matter to Barack Obama. He just brought CISPA back in the form of an executive order, which contains the worst of both of these acts.

The Internet is a goldmine of information, and every day we are changing the way we live and interact with one another based on technological innovations and creative uses for social media. But this goldmine is about to become the government’s treasure chest. Obama’s version of CISPA means that any information shared online that is deemed a cyber threat–which you can imagine, with the government involved, can be highly subjective in nature–can be shared openly with government, security agencies and private companies. Worse yet, you will have no legal recourse, even if you didn't do anything wrong.

Obama has already declared that he can assassinate American citizens or detain them indefinitely based on a threat, now he is claiming ownership of your personal information. You can be searched without cause and convicted without a trial—all because Obama has decreed it so.

This is in direct violation of your Fourth Amendment rights, which are supposed to keep you "secure" and give you protection against unreasonable search and seizure.

Nobody “owns” the Internet, but CISPA almost guarantees the U.S. government will hold dominion over it. Every website you visit, every piece of personal data you enter, and every action you take online will soon become the property of the Feds. And don’t think those long-winded privacy policies on websites will help you; Obama’s executive order will make them meaningless. CISPA’s current language says that information can be shared “notwithstanding any other provision of law.”

And, any actions taken under CISPA will be exempt from the Freedom of Information Act. Because even though Obama vowed transparency on his first full day in office back in 2009, he has done nothing but hide information and stall investigations whenever approached for the truth. He clearly has no use for the Constitution or accountability.

Obama’s actions have already been ruled illegal but he is forging ahead anyway, encouraging Congress to come up with even more regulations to supplement his executive order. Katz v. the United States (1967) found that the Fourth Amendment applies to immaterial intrusion with technology as a search. And in the 2010 case United States v. Warshak, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy in his emails, and the government VIOLATED THE FOURTH AMENDMENT by forcing an internet service provider to turn over emails without a warrant.

Once again, Barack Obama believes he and his government agencies can do a better job than private companies. That must be the reason the U.S. Postal Service is bleeding money and ending Saturday delivery—good management.

No one denies the fact that if you’re going to be a part of the Internet; you need to know how to keep your site safe from hackers and attackers. But very few think it’s a good idea to bundle up all kinds of data on American citizens and hand it over with a bow on top to the feds.

Because this is another very important, intrusive, must-do-it-now thing for Obama, he is taking care of it himself via executive order, saying in his State of the Union address that “We cannot look back years from now and wonder why we did nothing in the face of real threats to our security and our economy.”

Much as he has done with every heavy-handed government decree, he has used the premise of urgency, emergency and “we-can’t-wait” to shove through his agenda. And everything he has ever done has expanded the scope and reach of the federal government. Everything.

Sources close to the White House report that Obama plans to “rely heavily” on his executive powers to force his agenda without the input of Congress. After the Sandy Hook tragedy he issued 23 orders on gun control alone.

Members of Congress are expressing frustration at Obama’s dismissal of them, and individuals and organizations are fighting back just like they did with SOPA and trying to make CISPA dead on arrival. But this issue is only beginning; Obama wants Congress to add to his executive order and impose more draconian regulations on businesses. His order, as it stands, claims that participation is “voluntary,” but it is logical to see that mandatory rules are coming down the pike, either from Obama or Congress. And, the program being voluntary or not has nothing to do with the fact that the big ole government is about to be able to get its hands on what you do online and use it against you at will. That part is not voluntary at all.

ACLU legislative counsel Michelle Richardson warned, “As we’ve seen repeatedly, once the government gets expansive national security authorities, there’s no going back.”

http://www.conservative-daily.com/20...-the-internet/

Working to Counter Online Radicalization to Violence in the United States
Quintan Wiktorowicz ~ February 05, 2013 10:02 AM EST

The American public increasingly relies on the Internet for socializing, business transactions, gathering information, entertainment, and creating and sharing content. The rapid growth of the Internet has brought opportunities but also risks, and the Federal Government is committed to empowering members of the public to protect themselves against the full range of online threats, including online radicalization to violence.

Violent extremist groups ─ like al-Qa’ida and its affiliates and adherents, violent supremacist groups, and violent “sovereign citizens” ─ are leveraging online tools and resources to propagate messages of violence and division. These groups use the Internet to disseminate propaganda, identify and groom potential recruits, and supplement their real-world recruitment efforts. Some members and supporters of these groups visit mainstream fora to see whether individuals might be recruited or encouraged to commit acts of violence, look for opportunities to draw targets into private exchanges, and exploit popular media like music videos and online video games. Although the Internet offers countless opportunities for Americans to connect, it has also provided violent extremists with access to new audiences and instruments for radicalization.

As a starting point to prevent online radicalization to violence in the homeland, the Federal Government initially will focus on raising awareness about the threat and providing communities with practical information and tools for staying safe online. In this process, we will work closely with the technology industry to consider policies, technologies, and tools that can help counter violent extremism online. Companies already have developed voluntary measures to promote Internet safety ─ such as fraud warnings, identity protection, and Internet safety tips ─ and we will collaborate with industry to explore how we might counter online violent extremism without interfering with lawful Internet use or the privacy and civil liberties of individual users.

This approach is consistent with Internet safety principles that have helped keep communities safe from a range of online threats, such as cyber bullies, scammers, gangs, and sexual predators. While each of these threats is unique, experience has shown that a well-informed public, armed with tools and resources to stay safe online, is critical to protecting communities. Pursuing such an approach is also consistent with the community-based framework we outlined in Empowering Local Partners to Prevent Violent Extremism in the United States and the Strategic Implementation Plan for Empowering Local Partners to Prevent Violent Extremism in the United States.

A New Interagency Working Group

To more effectively organize our efforts, the Administration is establishing a new Interagency Working Group to Counter Online Radicalization to Violence, chaired by the National Security Staff at the White House and involving specialists in countering violent extremism, Internet safety experts, and civil liberties and privacy practitioners from across the United States Government. This Working Group will be responsible for developing plans to implement an Internet safety approach to address online violent extremism, coordinating the Federal Government’s activities and assessing our progress against these plans, and identifying additional activities to pursue for countering online radicalization to violence.

Raising Awareness through Existing Initiatives

In the coming months, the Working Group will coordinate with Federal departments and agencies to raise awareness and disseminate tools for staying safe from online violent extremism primarily through three means.

First, information about online violent extremism will be incorporated into existing Federal Government Internet safety initiatives. Internet safety initiatives at the Department of Education, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Homeland Security, and other agencies provide platforms that already reach millions of Americans, and relevant departments and agencies will work to add materials related to online radicalization.

The primary government platform for raising awareness about Internet safety is OnGuard Online, managed by the Federal Trade Commission and involving 16 departments and agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Education. OnGuard Online─ in addition to other Federal Government Internet safety platforms like Stop.Think.Connect and Safe Online Surfing─ will begin including information about online violent extremism. This information also will be posted on the Countering Violent Extremism homepage on the Department of Homeland Security’s website and updated to reflect new best practices and research.

Second, the Federal Government will work with local organizations throughout the country to disseminate information about the threat. One reason for the success of Federal Government Internet safety awareness efforts is that they work closely with local organizations — such as school districts, Parent Teacher Associations, local government, and law enforcement — to communicate to communities. Law enforcement is a particularly important partner in raising awareness about radicalization to violence and is already developing materials with support from the Department of Justice. Law enforcement departments and agencies have established Internet safety programs and relationships with community members and local organizations that can reach multiple audiences with critical information about the threat of online violent extremism and recruitment. Departments and agencies will provide the latest assessments of this threat to our local partners and encourage them to incorporate this information into their programs and initiatives.

Third, departments and agencies will use our preexisting engagement with communities to provide information about Internet safety and details about how violent extremists are using the Internet to target and exploit communities. U.S. Attorneys throughout the country, who historically have engaged with communities on a range of public safety issues, are coordinating these Federal engagement efforts at the local level, with support from other departments and agencies, such as the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Education. U.S. Attorneys and others involved in community engagement will seek to incorporate information about Internet radicalization to violence into their efforts, as appropriate. At the same time, the Federal Government will engage with State, local, and tribal government and law enforcement officials to learn from their experiences in addressing online threats, including violent extremism.

Going Forward

As the Federal Government implements this effort in the coming months, we will continue to investigate and prosecute those who use the Internet to recruit others to plan or carry out acts of violence, while ensuring that we also continue to uphold individual privacy and civil liberties. Preventing online radicalization to violence requires both proactive solutions to reduce the likelihood that violent extremists affect their target audiences as well as ensuring that laws are rigorously enforced.



For a fact sheet on Countering Online Radicalization to Violence, click here. http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/defa...n_-_final1.pdf

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/...-united-states