Lawmakers, Civil Liberties Activists Spar Ahead Of Cybersecurity Votes

Sponsors of controversial cybersecurity legislation moved quickly this week to try to blunt planned protests over the proposals. Civil liberties groups launched a "week of action" to highlight their concerns with the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, which they say could have unintended consequences for privacy.

House Intelligence Chairman Mike Rogers (R-MI) and ranking member Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) released the latest changes to that bill in an attempt to address the privacy concerns, but civil liberties activists were unimpressed. "Even with the changes in the discussion draft, CISPA remains the broadest and most dangerous cybersecurity bill out there," ACLU's Amanda Simon said. The groups, including the Center for Democracy and Technology and the Constitution Project, held a Capitol Hill briefing on Tuesday to outline their fear that CISPA's language is too vague.