New Obama EO to give WH control of the Internet?

[Stephanie]

lots of links at site

SNIP:
posted at 3:21 pm on July 11, 2012 by Ed Morrissey

We get a lot of e-mail about executive orders these days, much of it overly hysterical reaction to routine updates on long-standing EOs. Executive orders are legitimate when they deal directly with implementation of Article II powers or the enforcement of laws passed by Congress, as long as they don’t arrogate authority not granted by the law or the Constitution. Obviously, there is plenty of room for abuse in that system, but under normal circumstances an EO is simply an instrument of delineating executive-branch policy by having the President himself sign off on it.

However, an EO signed last Friday generated enough concern that it caught the attention of the media. Titled “Assignment of National Security and Emergency Preparedness Communications Functions,” it appears to grant DHS some fairly wide-ranging responsibility to ensure that private networks and broadcast facilities operate properly in the case of national emergency. This is the section that has some worried:

Sec. 5.2. The Secretary of Homeland Security shall: (a) oversee the development, testing, implementation, and sustainment of NS/EP communications, including: communications that support Continuity of Government; Federal, State, local, territorial, and tribal emergency preparedness and response communications; non-military executive branch communications systems; critical infrastructure protection networks; and non-military communications networks, particularly with respect to prioritization and restoration;
(b) incorporate, integrate, and ensure interoperability and the necessary combination of hardness, redundancy, mobility, connectivity, interoperability, restorability, and security to obtain, to the maximum extent practicable, the survivability of NS/EP communications defined in section 5.2(a) of this order under all circumstances, including conditions of crisis or emergency;
(c) provide to the Executive Committee the technical support necessary to develop and maintain plans adequate to provide for the security and protection of NS/EP communications;
(d) receive, integrate, and disseminate NS/EP communications information to the Federal Government and State, local, territorial, and tribal governments, as appropriate, to establish situational awareness, priority setting recommendations, and a common operating picture for NS/EP communications information;
(e) satisfy priority communications requirements through the use of commercial, Government, and privately owned communications resources, when appropriate;
(f) maintain a joint industry-Government center that is capable of assisting in the initiation, coordination, restoration, and reconstitution of NS/EP communications services or facilities under all conditions of emerging threats, crisis, or emergency;
(g) serve as the Federal lead for the prioritized restoration of communications infrastructure and coordinate the prioritization and restoration of communications, including resolution of any conflicts in or among priorities, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense when activities referenced in section 5.1(a) of this order are impacted, consistent with the National Response Framework. If conflicts in or among priorities cannot be resolved between the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, they shall be referred for resolution in accordance with section 2.1 of this order; and
(h) within 60 days of the date of this order, in consultation with the Executive Committee where appropriate, develop and submit to the President, through the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, a detailed plan that describes the Department of Homeland Security’s organization and management structure for its NS/EP communications functions, including the Government Emergency Telecommunications Service, Wireless Priority Service, Telecommunications Service Priority program, Next Generation Network Priority program, the Executive Committee JPO, and relevant supporting entities.

CNet raised a red flag on it last night, declaring that the EO would give the executive branch
control of the Internet when it so chooses:

President Barack Obama signed an executive order last week that could give the U.S. government control over the Internet. …

According to The Verge, critics of the order are concerned with Section 5.2, which is a lengthy part outlining how telecommunications and the Internet are controlled. It states that the Secretary of Homeland Security will “oversee the development, testing, implementation, and sustainment” of national security and emergency preparedness measures on all systems, including private “non-military communications networks.” According to The Verge, critics say this gives Obama the on/off switch to the Web.
CNet also notes that the authority on which this EO may rest didn’t get extended this year:
Presidential powers over the Internet and telecommunications were laid out in a U.S. Senate bill in 2009, which proposed handing the White House the power to disconnect private-sector computers from the Internet.

But that legislation was not included in the Cybersecurity Act of 2012 earlier this year.
The Daily Caller joined in this morning:

read it all here
New Obama EO to give WH control of the Internet? « Hot Air

 

[Inthemiddle]

New Rule:

If your source is called "hot air" then you shouldn't even bother to speak.

 

[Stephanie]

New Rule:

If your source is called "hot air" then you shouldn't even bother to speak.

when you own this board then you can dictate rules..until then go away if it's over your head

 

[Dreadnaught1968]

New Rule:

If your source is called "hot air" then you shouldn't even bother to speak.

Does that also apply to Huffington Post and Daily Kos?

 

[Oddball]

If this was Chimpola, the lolberals would be pooping their pants....But it's Boiking brazenly seizing power that isn't rightfully his, so it's....

 

[Dot Com]

Steffie? Do you actively seek this stuff out or does Drudge deliver it to your inbox?

 

[Stephanie]

Steffie? Do you actively seek this stuff out or does Drudge deliver it to your inbox?

dots, stick with the topic for a change instead of you obsessing over me