President Obama admits last weeks executive order gave the DHS authority to seize all public, private and commercial communication systems.
President Obama has taken the unprecedented step of handing the Department of Homeland Security the power to seize all communication systems in the United States ? be they private, public or commercial ? under any terms the government deems fit in another mind boggling executive order.
RT originally published a story last week reporting that EPIC and other organizations were crying foul because never in the history of the United States has the government ever been granted to seize private communication systems.
Originally the reports were dismissed as ?scare-mongering conspiracy theory? even though anyone can read the executive order for themselves and quickly realize the power granted by the order and that the order gives the federal government the power to shut down any communication system, including the internet.
However, the usual method of ignoring the ?wingnuts? just didn?t work this time as the backlash from the public was so strong it forced Obama to publicly acknowledge the order and its intent ? something he has failed to do with past executive orders such as the ?prepare for martial law order?.
Despite Obama?s reassurances that the order will only be invoked in ?emergency? situations the fact that ?emergency? remains undefined and can be invoked in cases of ?threats? as reported by the Washington Times.
DHS emergency power extended, including control of private telecom systems
[...]
In [the] executive order signed June 6 ?gives DHS the authority to seize control of telecommunications facilities, including telephone, cellular and wireless networks, in order to prioritize government communications over private ones in an emergency,? said Amie Stephanovich, a lawyer with the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC).
[...]
She said the order replaced one originally signed in 1984 by President Reagan and amended in 2003 by President George W. Bush after DHS was set up and took responsibility for emergency response and communications.
When the original order ?was written during the Cold War, the motivating national security concern was maintaining communications capability following a devastating nuclear strike,? Ms. Hayden said.
The new order ?address[es] a world in which our economy and government are far more reliant on communications technologies to maintain essential functions than we were then,? she wrote.
[...]
?The previous orders did not give DHS those authorities over private and commercial networks,? Ms. Stepanovich said. ?That?s a new authority.?
?This should have been done by Congress, so there could have been proper debate about it,? she added. ?This is not authority that should be granted by executive order.?
Ms. Hayden said the legal basis for the order is Section 706 of the 1934 Communications Act. The section authorizes the president to ?cause the closing of any facility or station for wire communication? and gives him ?control of any such facility or station? if a state of war, or the threat of one, exists.
The new order ?extends Section 706 powers to the Internet,? said James Harper, an electronic-privacy advocate at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank.
[...]
Source: The Washington Times
?
More alarming is the the new authority was granted through executive order without congressional and surpasses previous powers only invoked during the lead up to World War II and during the height of the Cold War when the United States government ?believed? such power was needed to feed of the threat of an all but imminent nuclear strike.
As such, Obama?s executive order is surely raising eyebrows nationwide.
RT Reports:
White House gives Homeland Security control of all communication systems
The White House has finally responded to criticism over US President Barack Obama?s hushed signing last week of an Executive Order that allows the government to command privately-owned communication systems and acknowledges its implications.
When President Obama inked his name to the Assignment of National Security and Emergency Preparedness Communications Functions Executive Order on July 6, he authorized the US Department of Homeland Security to take control of the country?s wired and wireless communications ? including the Internet ? in instances of emergency. The signing was accompanied with little to no acknowledgment outside of the White House, but initial reports on the order quickly caused the public to speak out over what some equated to creating an Oval Office kill switch for the Web. Now the Obama administration is addressing those complaints by calling the Executive Order a necessary implement for America?s national security.
?The [order] recognizes the creation of DHS and provides the Secretary the flexibility to organize the communications systems and functions that reside within the department as [Homeland Security Secretary Janet A. Napolitano] believes will be most effective,? White House spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden tells the Washington Post.
Hayden insists that ?The [order] does not transfer authorities between or among departments,? but the order does indeed allow the DHS to establish and implement control over even the privately owned communication systems in the country, including Internet Service Providers such as Time Warner, Verizon and Comcast, if the administration agrees that it is warranted for security?s sake.
Immediately after last week?s signing, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) said the order allowed the DHS ?the authority to seize private facilities when necessary, effectively shutting down or limiting civilian communications.?
Following up with the Post this week, EPIC attorney Amie Stephanovich stands by that initial explanation, agreeing that the DHS can now ?seize control of telecommunications facilities, including telephone, cellular and wireless networks, in order to prioritize government communications over private ones in an emergency.?
?The previous orders did not give DHS those authorities over private and commercial networks,? adds. Stepanovich. ?That?s a new authority.?
According to the order, the DHS can take charge of ?commercial, government, and privately owned communications resources? to satisfy what is described as ?priority communication requirements.? With little insight from outside the White House, though, what constitutes such an emergency may very well be decided on by Washington, where the country?s elected leaders are still split on all things involving the Internet.
Even still, Stepanovich says that approaching Capitol Hill for comment before rushing through an Executive Order could have caused things to come out differently, but would have also arguably brought forth a firestorm such as the one that accompanied an attempt to pass the Stop Online Piracy Act. When Congress tried to pass SOPA this year ? which included provisions that were argued to grossly regulate the Internet ? protests nationwide played a massive part in killing the legislation.
?This should have been done by Congress, so there could have been proper debate about it,? Stepanovich tells the Post of last week?s signing. ?This is not authority that should be granted by executive order.?
White House spokesperson Hayden adds to the Post, ?Mobile phones, the Internet, and social media are all now integral to the communications landscape,? concreting still the allegations that this order could be used as a kill switch to any of the millions upon millions of handheld and desktop devices across the country.
Source: RT
?
RT?s report last week on the order:
Obama gives himself control of all communication systems in America
US President Barack Obama quietly signed his name to an Executive Order on Friday, allowing the White House to control all private communications in the country in the name of national security.
President Obama released his latest Executive Order on Friday, July 6, a 2,205-word statement offered as the ?Assignment of National Security and Emergency Preparedness Communications Functions.? And although the president chose not to commemorate the signing with much fanfare, the powers he provides to himself and the federal government under the latest order are among the most far-reaching yet of any of his executive decisions.
?The Federal Government must have the ability to communicate at all times and under all circumstances to carry out its most critical and time sensitive missions,? the president begins the order. ?Survivable, resilient, enduring and effective communications, both domestic and international, are essential to enable the executive branch to communicate within itself and with: the legislative and judicial branches; State, local, territorial and tribal governments; private sector entities; and the public, allies and other nations.?
President Obama adds that it is necessary for the government to be able to reach anyone in the country during situations it considers critical, writing, ?Such communications must be possible under all circumstances to ensure national security, effectively manage emergencies and improve national resilience.? Later the president explains that such could be done by establishing a ?joint industry-Government center that is capable of assisting in the initiation, coordination, restoration and reconstitution of NS/EP [national security and emergency preparedness] communications services or facilities under all conditions of emerging threats, crisis or emergency.?
?The views of all levels of government, the private and nonprofit sectors, and the public must inform the development of NS/EP communications policies, programs and capabilities,? he adds.
On the government?s official website for the National Communications Systems, the government explains that that ?infrastructure includes wireline, wireless, satellite, cable, and broadcasting, and provides the transport networks that support the Internet and other key information systems,? suggesting that the president has indeed effectively just allowed himself to control the country?s Internet access.
In order to allow the White House to reach anyone within the US, the president has put forth a plan to establish a high-level committee calling from agents with the Department of Homeland Security, Pentagon, Federal Communications Commission and other government divisions to ensure that his new executive order can be implemented.
In explaining the order, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) writes that the president has authorized the DHS ?the authority to seize private facilities when necessary, effectively shutting down or limiting civilian communications.?
In Section 5 of his order, President Obama outlines the specific department and agency responsibilities that will see through his demands. In a few paragraphs, President Obama explains that Executive Committee that will oversee his order must be supplied with ?the technical support necessary to develop and maintain plans adequate to provide for the security and protection of NS/EP communications,? and that that same body will be in tasked with dispatching that communiqu? ?to the Federal Government and State, local, territorial and trial governments,? by means of ?commercial, Government and privately owned communications resources.?
Later, the president announces that the Department of Homeland Security will be tasked with drafting a plan during the next 60 days to explain how the DHS will command the government?s Emergency Telecommunications Service, as well as other telecom conduits. In order to be able to spread the White House?s message across the country, President Obama also asks for the purchasing of equipment and services that will enable such.
Source: RT
?
Related Posts
Post Navigation:
Source: http://blog.alexanderhiggins.com/2012/07/16/obama-dhs-authority-sieze-communications-148781/
cyber monday deals war eagle war eagle pawn stars restrepo nba news nba news
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.