House to debate changes to cybersecurity bill

By Brendan Sasso - 04/26/12 11:56 AM ET

The House will vote on 16 amendments to the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) based on the terms of debate set by the Rules Committee late Wednesday.

CISPA aims to improve cybersecurity by tearing down legal barriers that prevent companies from sharing information about threats.

But the White House said Wednesday it would veto the bill in its current form because it lacks adequate privacy protections and would fail to protect critical infrastructure systems.

Five of the amendments approved for debate are backed by the bill's authors, Reps. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) and Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.). The amendments would tighten limitations on how the government can use the information it collects and would narrow the definition of "cyber threat information." The changes would also restrict the scope of liability protections for companies that turn over data to the government.

The amendments aimed to address the concerns of privacy groups, who have warned the bill could lead companies to hand over their consumers' private information to the government. But the changes were not enough to win over privacy groups or the White House.

The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) had initially said they would not oppose House passage of the bill in light of the sponsors' proposed amendments. But when the Rules Committee failed to allow debate on additional amendments to further restrict the government's use of information or to prevent spy agencies from accessing the information, CDT said it could not "stand silent" and would oppose the bill.

Another amendment, offered by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), would ensure that the Freedom of Information Act would still apply to regulatory information shared as part of the bill.

Reps. Jim Langevin (D-R.I.) and Dan Lungren (R-Calif.) backed an amendment that would allow public critical infrastructure, such as airports, utilities and public transit systems, to receive the cybersecurity information.

The White House argues that cybersecurity legislation should set mandatory security standards for private critical infrastructure systems. But Republicans are resistant to any language that would establish new regulations for cybersecurity.

The House is expected to vote on the amendments Thursday evening and the bill on Friday morning. Lawmakers will debate each amendment for 10 minutes.