Press Release
House Votes to Pass CISPA Despite Major Opposition
Contact: Timothy Karr, 201-533-8838
WASHINGTON – On Thursday, in an unexpected evening vote, the House of Representatives voted 248-168 to pass the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA), the controversial bill that would give the government and companies virtually unlimited power to track people online.
The bill faced major bipartisan opposition, notably from Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.) and Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.). Prior to the vote, the Free Press Action Fund, along with the American Civil Liberties Union, Avaaz.org, Demand Progress and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, collected more than one million signatures petitioning House members to vote against CISPA.
Free Press Action Fund Policy Director Matt Wood made the following statement:
“CISPA is a dangerous piece of legislation and it’s worrisome that the House has passed such an overreaching bill. The bill still lacks effective oversight and accountability for companies and government agencies collecting massive amounts of our personal data. It would curtail Internet openness and freedom by stripping away crucial privacy protections, and without providing any guarantee of protection for critical infrastructure.
“If the Senate chooses to move forward with cybersecurity legislation, we urge senators to make the changes necessary to protect civil liberties and Internet freedom."
The bill faced major bipartisan opposition, notably from Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.) and Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.). Prior to the vote, the Free Press Action Fund, along with the American Civil Liberties Union, Avaaz.org, Demand Progress and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, collected more than one million signatures petitioning House members to vote against CISPA.
Free Press Action Fund Policy Director Matt Wood made the following statement:
“CISPA is a dangerous piece of legislation and it’s worrisome that the House has passed such an overreaching bill. The bill still lacks effective oversight and accountability for companies and government agencies collecting massive amounts of our personal data. It would curtail Internet openness and freedom by stripping away crucial privacy protections, and without providing any guarantee of protection for critical infrastructure.
“If the Senate chooses to move forward with cybersecurity legislation, we urge senators to make the changes necessary to protect civil liberties and Internet freedom."
