Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act of 2010

Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act of 2010
Al Ritter

I have some real problems with this act which will use the form of an amendment to add yet another government agency to the enormous machine that we can’t feed now. This act will be an amendment to the Homeland Security Act of 2002. The senate bill is S. 3480 and the house version is H.R. 5548. The bill gives carte blanche to the “Director” who will be named by the President to set regulations. There are no real rules as of yet, but one glaring rule made in the beginning.

These are the following areas I have problems with;

Page 15 Sec. 103 Prohibition on political campaigning

Page 17 Sec 105 Access to intelligence the agency will DIRECT access to everything
that was once considered as privileged information by servers

Page 53 Sec 24 Authority of the Director to access ANY government agency to gain information

Page 94 line 8 Civil penalties (government may sue you, but you may not sue the government)

Page 98 line 10 Protection of information by director to “prevent embarrassment to a person, organization, or agency”

Page 169 line 18 the director along with the Sec. of Education to select curriculum to school children

Page 176 lines 13 and 14 Pay scales; “can’t exceed GS-10 for entry level”

I see it as very offensive that the same social network that President Obama used to obtain his campaign win could be off limits to all political campaigning in the future, I find it offensive that an agency will now have NO boundaries to collect information on anyone at the whim of the director, I find it offensive that the government may sue me in civil court but I have no similar recourse. I find it offensive that material may be removed from the internet to prevent embarrassment to anyone the director sees as necessary to protect? I find it offensive that anyone other than the Sec. of Education may set curriculum for school children. I find it offensive that the pay scales for entry level positions may go as high as the highest government pay scale.