Legislation is being proposed that would allow President Obama to shut down the Internet in the wake of a national crisis like the one happening in Egypt
I get crazed when I’m trying to reach my husband on his cell phone and realize that it’s actually ringing in the house because he forgot to take it with him. Or if I send him a quick email that he doesn’t return shortly after I assume he’s received it. Especially if I need to talk to him about something regarding our daughter. And by the time my daughter is of an age where she uses the telephone to communicate instead of play, I’m sure we’ll get her a real one so that we can reach her in case of an emergency.
Upon reading that there is proposed legislation that would allow the President of the United States to shut down the Internet in the event of a national crisis, or cyber attack, I felt similarly crazed.
The Internet was shut down in Egypt days ago in the wake of the country-wide demonstrations, but by shutting people off, it only caused them to riot and protest with even more anger and rage. I can’t that I really blame them. Knowledge is power, and not being able to communicate can be like losing a limb.
While those proposing the legislation say the intention is to aid the government in the event of a cyber attack — not a real one — and that it’s not meant as a form of censorship, it still feels like an awful lot of power going into the hands of the government. And since a “cyber emergency” has yet to be defined, I have a hard time wrapping my head around when and why the government feels it might ever be OK to cut off communication between my family and me.
My sympathy for the increasing awful situation in Egypt continues to grow by the minute, particularly when thinking about the families there unable to communicate with each other about their well being.
How would you feel if someone deliberately cut off your ability to communicate with your family?
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