Last night, the House passed the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (or CISPA). One of CISPA’s most disturbing features is that it allows the military, including agencies like the NSA, to collect records of Americans’ everyday Internet use. You’re probably wondering what you can do to halt any other advancement towards a surveillance state.
First, I recommend watching this video. It explains how all the information collected in your browsing history is saved, collected, and transformed into a profile of you and your life. Not only is this information valuable to other companies, it’s also susceptible to government inspection. The government can buy it from data brokers, simply ask for it, or take advantage of outdated privacy laws to demand your information with a subpoena a judge has never seen. Our privacy laws were written before the birth of the internet—they’re ready for updates. Ask congress to do so here and here
The www.dotrights.org website will tell you all about privacy concerns in webmail, photo sites, and search engines. You can petition internet companies to protect your privacy and learn how to spread the word on protecting civil liberties in the digital age.
Most importantly, you can call Susan Collins and tell her to oppose any internet spying legislation that comes her way. Her number is (202) 224-2523.