Lawmakers supporting CISPA were frightened and intimidated by the persuasive powers of Anonymous, according to CISPA co-author, Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.).
In an interview published by The Hill on April 27, Ruppersberger acknowledged that lawmakers were threatened and intimidated by the online international collective known as Anonymous and their opposition to CISPA (The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act):
"Anonymous was threatening us. Anonymous was telling [others] to shut down people who supported the bill and that kind of thing.
I didn't want to put anybody who was going to support the bill ... to be subjected to those attacks in their districts, and calling and threatening and that type of thing, so we really decided to not get anybody on the bill right away ...”
The Hill reports that Ruppersberger decided not to ask other members to attach their names to CISPA when it was first introduced in February, fearing pushback from opponents of the measure, opponents like Anonymous..
Despite opposition from Anonymous and other Internet activists, the controversial cybersecurity bill was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday, April 18. However, the legislation died in the Senate last week, according to a statement from a representative of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. In addition, President Obama has indicated on several occasions that he would veto the legislation if it made it to his desk.
CISPA , would authorize e-mail and Internet providers to share confidential information with the federal government, and permit police to do warrantless database searches. Critics claim the controversial legislation would end online privacy and violate the Fourth Amendment.
While some CISPA proponents see the bill as a strong measure to fight cyber threats and better protect citizens, organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union, the Internet Defense League and the Electronic Frontier Foundation oppose CISPA because of the jurisdiction it would provide for the federal government to procure personal information shared with private-sector entities such as Google or Facebook.
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