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An earlier SECURE ACT version drew harsh criticism. Dozens of organizations opposed it. They included EFF, The Center for Media and Democracy, Center for Democracy & Technology, the ACLU, Defending Dissent Foundation, and the American Library Association.
In a May Senate letter , they said it lacked "sufficient privacy safeguards, oversight or accountability." They called it a "threat to privacy and civil liberties." They enumerated over a dozen serious flaws.
Amended legislation followed. Modest improvements only were made. Definitions were tightened. Government contractor obligations to share information were clarified. Required Inspector General reports were added.
According to the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT), "changes made merely nibble around the edges of more substantial flaws." SECURE It remains "a back-door wiretap bill."
It requires private companies to share information with government agencies. They include NSA, DOD's Cyber Command, DHS, and the Justice Department. Passage will grievously harm civil liberties.
The measure circumvents existing privacy law protections. "All cyber threat information shared with any cybersecurity center would be shared immediately with the NSA" and other above named centers.
They operate secretly. Companies sharing information won't know how it's used. These agencies have a deplorable record of operating extrajudicially.
NSA recently admitted it couldn't estimate how many Americans were included in intelligence surveillance activities. The 2008 FISA Amendments Act (FISAAA) authorized targeting only non-US citizens abroad.
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