Once again, the government has covertly proposed a new internet law that threatens our internet freedom and privacy. On Thursday, April 26, the House of Representatives passed the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA).

The consequential bill is suggested to aid information sharing between private companies and the federal government. CISPA is just another stealthy strike from “Big Brother,” which attempts to control information on the Internet.

Much like SOPA and PIPA, there are controversial issues within the bill. CISPA allows companies to share information with the Department of Homeland Security and the National Security Agency without regards to our personal data. The bill is said to address cyber threats, but many will support the fact that the term is too vague and allows the federal government to broadly control the internet.

Civil liberties groups and constitutional rights advocates find it a potential threat to Americans’ constitutional rights and oppose the bill, along with many others such as American Civil Liberties Union, the Sunlight Foundation, the American Library Association and Electronic Frontier Foundation. On April 30, Rep. Ron Paul said that it would create a “Big Brother” culture, voting against CISPA.

Major companies such as Facebook, AT&T, Microsoft and more are in support of fighting cyberthreats overseas. Some members of Congress support CISPA for this reason also.

The White House has also threatened to veto CISPA. With the Senate’s own cybersecurity legislation and the president’s disapproval, we can only hope that the Senate will contest the proposed law with great declaration.