Protecting Cyber Networks Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Madam Chair, I rise today to oppose to H.R. 1560, the Protecting Cyber Network Act (PCNA). While I commend Chairman Nunes and Ranking Member Schiff for crafting a bill that improves upon the cybersecurity legislation this body has previously voted on, I cannot support it in its current form.

Despite addressing many of the reservations I had when we voted on the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) last Congress, I have concerns about the ambiguous liability provisions in this legislation. While companies should have some legal protection, this bill gives liability protections to companies so long as they share or receive information ``in accordance with the Act.'' It would grant immunity to companies for simply putting forth a ``good faith'' effort when reporting security threats and sharing consumer data with the government and other companies. For example, companies would receive liability protection even if they fail to act on threat information in a timely manner. The unintended effect of these murky liability provisions is that companies would not have the same incentive to report security threats and protect their consumers' privacy. I was disappointed that Republicans did not allow a vote on two amendments offered by Rep. Richmond than would have addressed these overbroad liability provisions.

Our country faces cyber-network attacks each day which threaten our national security and our economy. I strongly believe that we must take steps to protect against these cyber threats while not sacrificing our privacy and civil liberties. Should this bill pass the House,

I hope that many of the loopholes can be resolved with the Senate, but as it stands today I cannot support it.

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