CISPA Is Back: FAQ On What It Is And Why It's Still Dangerous

Mark M. Jaycox and Kurt Opsahl | Electronic Frontier Foundation | February 25, 2013

The privacy-invasive bill known as CISPA—the so-called “cybersecurity” bill—was reintroduced in February 2013. Just like last year, the bill has stirred a tremendous amount of grassroots activism because it carves a loophole in all known privacy laws and grants legal immunity for companies to share your private information. EFF has compiled an FAQ detailing how the bill's major provisions work and how they endanger all Internet users' privacy. Please join us in speaking out against CISPA by contacting Congress now.

  • What is "CISPA"?
  • Under CISPA, what can a private company do?
  • Does CISPA do enough to prevent abuse of the law for copyright enforcement?
  • What triggers these new corporate powers?
  • Under CISPA, what can I do if a company improperly hands over private information to the government?
  • Do companies need to share users' personally identifying information (PII) to enhance information security?
  • Can a company hack a perceived threat under CISPA ("hack back")?
  • What is a "cybersecurity system"?
  • What government agencies can look at my private information?
  • Can the government use my private information for other purposes besides “cybersecurity” once it has it?
  • What can I do to stop the government from misusing my private information?
  • Isn't it important to protect computer systems and networks?
  • Who is supporting this legislation?
  • What can companies do to show they will stand by their users?
  • What can I do to stop this bill?