GOP-led House panel accuses cybersecurity agency of violating citizens’ civil liberties
The federal government agency charged with protecting critical infrastructure and guarding against cybersecurity threats is accused of “exceeding its statutory authority” in its post-2016-election efforts to monitor domestic social media for evidence of misinformation, disinformation and malinformation, according to a House Republican-led committee’s interim report.
The House Judiciary Committee and Subcommittee on Weaponization of the Federal Government issued a report accusing the Critical Infrastructure and Cybersecurity Agency, or CISA, of facilitating the “censorship of Americans directly and through third-party intermediaries.” The committee’s investigation cites internal Department of Homeland Security emails and meeting notes.
The core claims of the 41-page report focus on changes at the agency since the 2016 election. A January 2017 report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence found Russian efforts to influence the election “demonstrated a significant escalation in directness, level of activity, and scope of effort compared to previous operations.” The report did not assess “the impact that Russian activities had on the outcome of the 2016 election.”
The House Judiciary Committee’s report, peppered with politically charged language, alleges that CISA expanded the monitoring of foreign “disinformation” to “all disinformation including Americans’ speech.”
Source: CBS News