Last Thursday, details emerged of a frightening new version of the Cybersecurity Act of 2009. The bill was originally authored by Senator Jay Rockfeller D-W.Vmonths earlier. but If passed, the bill would give President Obama emergency control of the Internet, and furthermore may give him the power to shut down online traffic by seizing private networks.

“In the original bill they empowered the president to essentially turn off the Internet in the case of a ‘cyber-emergency,’ which they didn’t define,” said Larry Clinton, president of the Internet Security Alliance, which represents the telecommunications industry.
This is a most frightening development. If this bill is signed into law, it will be a huge violation of the First Amendment. Proponents of the bill argue it will help prevent terrorist’s access to our water, electricity, banking, traffic lights, and electronic health records in the event of a cyber-emergency, but do we absolutely have to sacrifice our liberties in the process? It is our duty to improve our national security, and in the present day and age it is very important; but giving the President the power to shut down citizen’s access to the internet is certainly not necessary.