Fourth Amendment Threat CISPA Slips Quietly Through House While Media Busy Covering Boston Bombing

But what is worrisome is that the legislation was passed in the House, largely by a party that is supposed to be all for smaller, less intrusive government. See how there isn’t much difference these days between Republicans and Democrats?

At CISPA’s core is the Fourth Amendment, which reads:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

That seems clear enough – no government intrusion into your private “effects” without “probable cause” and a search warrant. But, says Bomboy, CISPA would essentially nullify these rights as long as the federal government says it needs to do so to protect you:

CISPA is designed to let the federal government work with private companies to fight hackers and cybercriminals in and outside of the United States. As part of the effort to detect cyber threats, private companies could voluntarily share with the government data about Internet users. The sharing could be done in “real time” as the cybercops try to defeat and track down the evildoers. Companies could also share data among themselves as part of the effort.

Obviously there are big problems with this kind of legislation, to say nothing of the constitutional implications.