The officially informative, sometimes humorous, and decidedly wonderful blog.

Nope. #CISPA

May 2, 2012 by Jared | 17 Comments

It doesn't make sense for Name.com to come out against CISPA. For a business, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act has some positives. As Nic in our company compliance says, "We would have a lesser degree of liability and potentially be able to more effectively report and respond to incidents like the recent DDoS attack."

With CISPA, Name.com could voluntarily share with the government information related to "cybersecurity" and "cyber crimes" without risking a civil suit. Nic reports:

Sharing this information would not be mandated, and would also not require a warrant or any judicial oversight. All that would be required is a "good faith" belief that the information was related to a set of provisions (the most notable being the broadly defined "cybersecurity"). The idea is that being able to share this information will allow the government and private companies to react more quickly and more effectively to cyber threats.
Reset CISPA

In its current form, CISPA is not good.

As you can see, we should probably adore this thing. A lot of companies do, and after the DDoS that smacked us, it's pretty darn tempting. Does there need to be something like #CISPA? Probably. Is this version the one? Nope.

The problem is, that like SOPA, this bill is way too broad to embrace. It lacks safeguards to protect against abuse of privacy, confidentiality and civil liberties. Nic again: "CISPA does openly reject the notion of a free, open and anonymous internet and empowers companies to take action against users without the ability for users to pursue legal remedies."

We can't support that. What we can support is the Electronic Frontier Foundation and its decades-long effort to protect the digital rights of the consumer and the general public. And we'll have some fun doing it.

Play the What Should CISPA stand for Whackronym Acronym Game.

It's easy. In the comments below include your winning version of C.I.S.P.A. An example might be, and just so we don't take a really good one: Crikey, It's Silly Politics Again. Wait, that was kind of good. Anyway, do better. We'll have our staff vote on the comments with the most "likes." Sounds pretty Internety, eh? Just like we like it.

First Place: A $500 donation in your name or that of your organization to the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Second Place: A $300 donation in your name or that of your organization to the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Third Place: A $200 donation in your name or that of your organization to the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

And because of your general awesomeness, we'll probably be giving random prizes to keep you motivated in the fight. Oh, and if you don't win this contest, unfortunately there will most likely be another opportunity. As Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the WWW, says, “[It] is threatening the rights of people in America, and effectively rights everywhere, because what happens in America tends to affect people all over the world. Even though the SOPA and PIPA acts were stopped by huge public outcry, it’s staggering how quickly the US government has come back with a new, different, threat to the rights of its citizens."

So make your voice heard. We've done it before and it's our duty to do it again.

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/XGVXLWMHHIJIO3ESIAIO3LZ274 Mike Rodenbaugh

    Comprehensive Internet Spying on the People of America

  • http://www.facebook.com/dabberz David Barajas

    Can't Imagine it Stopping People's Activities

  • http://ashkir.com/ Ashkir

    Comical Insanity Stealing Personal Ambition 

  • OogleyBoogley

    Crooked inept senile politicians attack 

  • http://twitter.com/Peterpay Pedro Barrera

    Creepy Idiots Show Pure Ambition

  • Abdul Mueid

    CISPA Is Sabotaging Public Anonymity

  • http://www.brandonrichards.com/ Brandon Richards

    Communistic Inquisitors Spying on the People of America

  • oborseth

    Even more importantly, if you are a US citizen be sure to contact your representatives in congress and in the senate.

    US House of Representatives: http://www.house.gov/representatives/
    US Senate: https://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

    We can blog post and play fun games all we want but it's your opinion voiced to those in power that really makes all the difference.

  • http://www.facebook.com/spj84 Simon Johnson

    ♦ Cunts In Suits Plunder America

    ♦ Cowards in Suits Paralyze Americans

    ♦ Can I Still Post Anonymously?
    ♥ Censoring Internet Services Persecutes All
    ♥ Censorship, Is Silencing Peoples Ambitions

    ♦ Cowards In Suits Persecute Americans

    ♦ Crime, Is Silencing Peoples Ambition
    ♦ Crime, Is Silencing Peoples Activities

    ♦ Censorship, Is Silencing Peoples Activities

  • http://www.facebook.com/spj84 Simon Johnson

    Can I Suppress Peoples Anonymity?

  • http://www.WebmasterCoupons.net/ Mike

    Crazy Insane Senators Persecuting America 

  • http://www.facebook.com/spj84 Simon Johnson

     Censoring Internet Services Persecutes All

  • http://www.facebook.com/spj84 Simon Johnson

     Cowards In Suits Persecute Americans

  • http://www.facebook.com/spj84 Simon Johnson

    Can I Still Post Anonymously?

  • justinshattuck

    "Consequently Increasing Socks Proxy Abuse"

  • http://twitter.com/menaaboud Mena Aboud

    Back off C.I.S.P.A ~ meet in court first before you even try to think about cyber-threats, invading our privacy and take any action . Freedom {Imagine Mel Gibson in Bravehart} c ya. 

  • http://twitter.com/glynford Glynford

    Charles, Is Sam Playing Again?