CISA will deputize corporations to spy without accountability

CISA, a so-called “cybersecurity” bill, is likely to be approved by the Senate tomorrow. Here’s hoping the senators who vote for it will be primaried out of office. Here’s what they’ll be voting to do as laid out by Empty Wheel.

CISA will provide a way around the warrant requirement for domestic collection of content.

CISA is Supreme Court-proof. SCOTUS will likely never overturn CISA because courts will not recognize the standing of defendants. Doing so would give notice to ‘criminal defendants,’ citing, ‘national security concerns.’

Senators who vote for CISA tomorrow will be voting to begin to dismantle an imperfect, but nevertheless vastly superior, system designed to uphold the Fourth Amendment.

 

In 1972, the Supreme Court unanimously held that the government needed a warrant before conducting electronic surveillance for “domestic security” purposes. After some years, Congress set up the FISA court and process, through which the government can obtain warrants — and under FISA Amendments Act, mere certificates — permitting them to spy on US persons, while maintaining some modicum of review both at the warrant stage and (though it never worked in practice) the prosecution stage.

CISA will set up an alternative system for a very broadly defined cyber use, whereby Congress permits corporations to share the fruits of spying on their own customers with the government. Virtually all the protections built into the FISA system — a review by a judge, judicially approved minimization procedures, the requirement to protect US person identities as much as possible, and notice provisions if used for prosecution — will be eliminated here. Corporations will be able to spy on customers and hand over that data under permissive guidelines, giving the government all the benefits of domestic surveillance…

Go read the full post from Empty Wheel: https://www.emptywheel.net/2015/10/26/two-intended-consequences-cisa-supporters-will-be-responsible-for/