- Tech
-
-
Tech
The gadgets, platforms, and software that make your digital life possible. if it bleeps, clicks or blinks, you’ll find it here.
-
Categories
-
-
Latest
- Pinterest is reportedly blocking vaccination searches Wednesday 2:53 PM
- Nike’s self-lacing smart sneakers malfunction days after release Wednesday 2:50 PM
- The simple way to connect Apple TV and HomePod Wednesday 5:00 AM
- Did Elon Musk just host PewDiePie’s meme review? Tuesday 8:53 AM
- YouTube is fueling the rise in flat earth believers Monday 11:04 AM
-
-
-
- Internet Culture
-
-
Internet Culture
There’s a community for everyone online.
-
Categories
-
-
Latest
- The truth behind the anti-LGBTQ emoji controversy Wednesday 1:37 PM
- John Mayer steps in to Photoshop Diplo’s Instagram Wednesday 9:28 AM
- This Kickstarter needs $4,000 to digitally erase the rat from ‘The Departed’ Wednesday 8:07 AM
- Bernie Sanders memes resurface after 2020 bid announcement Wednesday 6:27 AM
- The ‘Well yes, but actually no’ meme is here to help you explain things Tuesday 12:07 PM
-
-
-
- Streaming
-
-
Streaming
You’ve cut the cord—now what?
-
Categories
-
-
Latest
- Report: Disney yanks YouTube ad spending following child exploitation accusations Wednesday 7:56 PM
- These people are organizing Fyre Fest live-action role-play parties Wednesday 6:35 PM
- Stop exploiting the Jussie Smollett case to discredit LGBTQ hate crime victims Wednesday 3:28 PM
- The best Netflix original movies of 2019 Wednesday 3:20 PM
- Tristan Thompson disables Instagram comments after reports he cheated on Khloe Kardashian Wednesday 11:25 AM
-
-
-
- IRL
-
-
IRL
Where your off- and online identities collide.
-
Categories
-
-
Latest
- These people are organizing Fyre Fest live-action role-play parties Wednesday 6:35 PM
- White woman berates Mexican restaurant manager for speaking Spanish Wednesday 4:12 PM
- Stop exploiting the Jussie Smollett case to discredit LGBTQ hate crime victims Wednesday 3:28 PM
- The truth behind the anti-LGBTQ emoji controversy Wednesday 1:37 PM
- Introducing ‘boner culture,’ this Gamergate blogger’s latest cause Wednesday 11:16 AM
-
-
-
- Social
-
-
Social
If it happens online, it’s here.
-
Categories
-
-
Latest
- Report: Disney yanks YouTube ad spending following child exploitation accusations Wednesday 7:56 PM
- These people are organizing Fyre Fest live-action role-play parties Wednesday 6:35 PM
- White woman berates Mexican restaurant manager for speaking Spanish Wednesday 4:12 PM
- In Pixar short ‘Kitbull,’ a cat and pit bull become unlikely friends Wednesday 3:48 PM
- Stop exploiting the Jussie Smollett case to discredit LGBTQ hate crime victims Wednesday 3:28 PM
-
-
-
- Bazaar
-
-
Bazaar
The Bazaar specializes in the stuff you don’t actually need…but you really, really want.
-
Categories
-
-
Latest
- Allow your wallet to be your spirit guide during this rad anime sale Tuesday 10:43 AM
- 14 artsy cartoon mugs that’ll help make your days more creative Monday 12:15 PM
- Get your nerd on with ThinkGeek’s Funko Pop B2G1 sale Monday 3:00 AM
- Play all your NES games in high def with the Hyperkin RetroN HD Tuesday 8:39 AM
- The Introvert Activity Book is perfect for those who find solace in alone time Monday 11:30 AM
-
-
-
- More
- Search
See all Editor's Picks →
See all Popular →
Represented by Complex Media, Inc. for advertising sales.
Privacy Policy Terms & Conditions Ethics
Latest
- Report: Disney yanks YouTube ad spending following child exploitation accusations Wednesday 7:56 PM
- These people are organizing Fyre Fest live-action role-play parties Wednesday 6:35 PM
- White woman berates Mexican restaurant manager for speaking Spanish Wednesday 4:12 PM
- In Pixar short ‘Kitbull,’ a cat and pit bull become unlikely friends Wednesday 3:48 PM
- Stop exploiting the Jussie Smollett case to discredit LGBTQ hate crime victims Wednesday 3:28 PM
- The best Netflix original movies of 2019 Wednesday 3:20 PM
- Pinterest is reportedly blocking vaccination searches Wednesday 2:53 PM
- Nike’s self-lacing smart sneakers malfunction days after release Wednesday 2:50 PM
- How to quickly get the Havoc weapon in Apex Legends Wednesday 2:48 PM
- The truth behind the anti-LGBTQ emoji controversy Wednesday 1:37 PM
- Tristan Thompson disables Instagram comments after reports he cheated on Khloe Kardashian Wednesday 11:25 AM
- Introducing ‘boner culture,’ this Gamergate blogger’s latest cause Wednesday 11:16 AM
- HBO debuts trailer for controversial Michael Jackson doc ‘Leaving Neverland’ Wednesday 10:46 AM
- Christian woman refuses to do taxes for lesbian married couple Wednesday 10:43 AM
- Political campaigns will be snooping on your phones in 2020 Wednesday 10:43 AM
Congressman plans bill to repeal CISA-like legislation included in omnibus
Rep. Justin Amash says the bill was ‘snuck’ through Congress.
Congressman Justin Amash (R-Mich.) plans to introduce legislation to undo a cybersecurity law that critics say secretly allows the federal government to spy on Americans.
The Cybersecurity Act of 2015 was included in Congress’ year-end spending bill, a piece of must-pass legislation known as the omnibus.
When I return to DC, I’m going to introduce legislation to repeal the unconstitutional cyberspying bill that was enacted with the #omnibus.
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) December 28, 2015
“Many of my colleagues remain unaware that a massive surveillance bill was snuck into the omnibus,” Amash said in a statement provided to the Daily Dot. “And if they are aware, they may have been misled into believing this bill is about cybersecurity.”
On Dec. 18, the House passed the end-of-year omnibus bill, a $1.8 trillion catch-all that included everything from repeals of oil export bans to increased funding for the International Monetary Fund. Two days before its inevitable passage, lawmakers updated the bill to include language from the Cyber Information Sharing Act (CISA), a bill that makes it easier for companies to share details of cyberattacks with the government but is universally loathed by privacy advocates.
The Cybersecurity Act of 2015 allows companies like Facebook, Google, or Visa to share cyber threat data—digital evidence of a cyberattack—with the Department of Homeland Security. It also grants American firms immunity from prosecution for sharing data that may include customers’ personal data.
“Ultimately this will be fairly embarrassing for Congress.”
Proponents of the bill say it will help protect companies and their customers from data breaches and other cyberattacks. Critics believe the new law would allow government agencies to more easily access Americans’ personal information and share it with the National Security Agency. An analysis by the Open Technology Institute found citizens’ privacy would be more adversely affected by the final language of the omnibus bill than by CISA drafts.
“Just like the Patriot Act, [Congress] re-wrote the final [omnibus] bill in secret and snuck it through Congress before most people could even read it,” Nathan White, Senior Legislative Manager at Access, an Internet freedom-supporting nonprofit, told the Daily Dot. “And just like the Patriot Act, the bill will be used for far more than what Members of Congress think that they are authorizing. Ultimately this will be fairly embarrassing for Congress.”
Amash opposed CISA’s language in the bill before it passed, going so far as to circulate a letter citing tech companies’ opposition and calling it “anti-privacy legislation,” but to little avail. Amash is part of the House Freedom Caucus, which, citing the omnibus’s large price tag, had already vowed to oppose the bill anyway, forcing House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) to find votes elsewhere.
Amash has a long history of trying to reduce government surveillance on American citizens. After NSA contractor Edward Snowden leaked evidence that the agency was storing the phone records of large numbers Americans without individual warrants, Amash acted faster than anyone in Congress, introducing a narrowly-defeated amendment bill to defund the program, and he has repeatedly condemned the post-9/11 Patriot Act for providing legal basis for that program.
#HR2029. New cyberspying bill was folded into #omnibus to limit scrutiny. Worst surveillance bill since #PatriotAct. https://t.co/epR7iWevtd
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) December 28, 2015
Any bill Amash has in mind will have to be introduced after Congress reconvenes on Jan. 6.
Photo via Gage Skidmore / Flickr (CC by 2.0) | Remix by Max Fleishman

Kevin Collier
A former senior politics reporter for the Daily Dot, Kevin Collier focuses on privacy, cybersecurity, and issues of importance to the open internet. Since leaving the Daily Dot in March 2016, he has served as a reporter for Vocativ and a cybersecurity correspondent for BuzzFeed.