Rep. Keith Ellison: Cyber Intelligence Bill Violates Americans' Fundamental Right To Privacy

Statement

Rep. Keith Ellison released the following statement after voting against the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) (H.R.624):

"The threat of cyber-attack is real. As we have seen repeatedly, both public and private networks are under constant threat, and Congress has a responsibility to address these threats.

"However, CISPA in its current form would violate Americans' fundamental right to privacy. I join the White House and Members of the House Intelligence Committee in opposing the legislation.

"First, CISPA would allow private companies to share personally identifiable information with the government without appropriate safeguards. It would not require the government to remove identifiable information until after personal information has been shared with federal agencies. We should not be providing personal information to government agencies when private companies can protect the privacy of users themselves. The bill does even less to protect someone's identity in the case of sharing between two private companies.

"Second, the bill would allow people's personal identities to be shared with the military through the National Security Agency, violating the long-standing principle of keeping military and intelligence agencies out of domestic civilian surveillance. Even in the wake of September 11th, Congress protected the internet from surveillance by the National Security Agency.

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