Cybersecurity Law Slammed Over Privacy Concerns

WASHINGTON – President Obama tonight signed an executive order to protect U.S. critical infrastructure from cyberattacks by improving cybersecurity information sharing between the government and owners and operators of the nation's critical infrastructure. Unlike legislation that will be introduced into the House tomorrow, the president's executive order seeks to protect Americans' digital privacy when information-sharing occurs, according to the ACLU.

"The president's executive order rightly focuses on cybersecurity solutions that don't negatively impact civil liberties. For example, greasing the wheels of information sharing from the government to the private sector is a privacy-neutral way to distribute critical cyber information," ACLU Legislative Counsel Michelle Richardson said. "More encouragingly, the adoption of Fair Information Practice Principles for internal information sharing demonstrates a commitment to tried-and-true privacy practices – like consent, transparency, minimization and use limitations. If new information sharing authorities are granted—especially the overbroad ones being pondered by the House—these principles will be more important than ever. We look forward to working with the administration to make sure that the devil isn't in the details when privacy regulations are drafted."

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