The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act, the controversial bill that allows intelligence agencies the power to obtain user data from companies beyond the rule of law, was signed off by President Obama a fortnight ago after being forcibly bundled with a vital Federal funding bill – together known as the “Omnibus” bill – that was guaranteed to pass. One man, however, intends to challenge this chicanery, even if he has to do it alone.
Republican Congressman Justin Amash plans to introduce legislation to remove the controversial CISA from the Omnibus bill, branding it “unconstitutional”:
When I return to DC, I'm going to introduce legislation to repeal the unconstitutional cyberspying bill that was enacted with the #omnibus.
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) December 28, 2015
Amash later released a statement regarding the above tweet to The Daily Dot. “Many of my colleagues remain unaware that a massive surveillance bill was snuck into the omnibus,” Amash said. “And if they are aware, they may have been misled into believing this bill is about cybersecurity.”
Amash has been a vocal opponent of CISA ever since the bill was muted, even before it formed a part of the Omnibus bill, branding it “anti-privacy legislation.” While Congress ultimately passed the bill, the Congressman – who also opposed the Patriot Act and failed in an attempt to strip powers from the NSA following the Snowden leaks in 2013 – feels he has a right to at least challenge its inclusion in Omnibus when reconvenes in January.
