The White House

indicated it would veto the Cyber Intelligense Sharing and
Protection Act (CISPA), which sets up a regime under which
government agencies can acquire and retain records from companies
that collect private data on the Internet, though largely because
the White House doesn’t think the legislation goes far enough.

While the White House insists on the “civilian nature” of
cyberspace, more importantly, in a fashion typical of this
Administration, the federal government would like to see itself
granted new authority to “ensure that the Nation’s critical
infrastructure operators are taking the steps necessary to protect
the American people” as well as to set “cybersecurity performance
standards.” The regime proposed by CISPA is described as
“voluntary” by its sponsors.

The ACLU, meanwhile,
rejected amendments to the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and
Protection Act (CISPA) meant to alleviate rights
concerns as “not enough.” The amendments
offered would narrow the definition of a “threat” and the
conditions under which the government could retain or use the
information.

CISPA has a much broader
base of
support than the ill-fated SOPA did, and popular opposition to
the bill has not been as fierce as to its
predecessor.