Today the House voted 288-127 to pass the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA), H.R. 624. The bill passed by a wider margin than last Congress, with 92 Democrats voting in favor of H.R. 624. Several amendments regarding privacy concerns were adopted. House Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) stated after the vote “CISPA recognizes that you can’t have true security without privacy, and you can’t have privacy without security. This bill effectively works to protect both.”
Among the amendments agreed to were one from Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), calling for designation of entities within the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security to receive self-reported notice of threats which fall under the National Security Act of 1947, requiring dissemination of such notice to the appropriate Federal agencies in real time. The amendment was adopted by the Committee of the Whole 409-5.
Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), former Chairman of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, sponsored an amendment adopted by voice vote to ensure that the Act could not be construed to provide any new authority, or alter any existing authority, for businesses to “sell personal information of a consumer to another entity for marketing purposes.”
An amendment from Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) would require the Department of Homeland Security to provide an annual report to Congress (along with other agencies, including the Director of National Intelligence and the Department of Justice). It was also agreed to by voice vote.
The White House issued a veto threat earlier this week and that position has not changed at this time. The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration.
For more information on CISPA please see House Intelligence Committee Approves Bipartisan Cybersecurity Legislation with Privacy and Civil Liberties Amendments and Chairman Rogers and Ranking Member Ruppersberger Reintroduce Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA).