Again, Wrangling Over Surveillance in the Cybersecurity Bill

The so-called cybersecurity bill is being thrashed out on the United States Senate floor this week, a debate that is turning into a pitched battle over how easily the government can go through private data online. The bill has already raised the ire of civil liberties groups. The bill’s original goal was to let the government enforce minimum security standards for the computer systems that run power plants, air traffic control systems, dams and other critical infrastructure. The business lobby pushed back. The legislation now makes government oversight entirely voluntary. Some of the most important parts of the bill now center on the sharing of information between private companies and government agencies — and therein lies the rub. There is a flurry of amendments to the bill, and a great many of them would either expand or limit the government’s powers of surveillance.