Poll: No Net shutdown – even in emergency

WASHINGTON – A Zogby poll released today shows overwhelming opposition to a Senate bill that would give the president authority to shut down the Internet in times of national emergency.

Commissioned by the O'Leary Report, the poll of 3,937 voters in the last election shows 81.8 percent oppose the idea, with only 5 percent supporting it. The margin of error is +/-1.6 percent, according to Zogby.

The bill in question is the Cybersecurity Act of 2009, sponsored by Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.V., Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, and Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla. It would give to the U.S. government authority over all networks considered part of the nation's critical infrastructure. Under the proposed Cybersecurity Act of 2009, the president would have the authority to shut down Internet traffic to protect national security.

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The government also would have access to digital data from a vast array of industries including banking, telecommunications and energy. A second bill, meanwhile, would create a national cybersecurity adviser – commonly referred to as the cybersecurity czar – within the White House to coordinate strategy with a wide range of federal agencies involved.

"I know the threats we face." Rockefeller said in a prepared statement when the legislation was introduced. "Our enemies are real. They are sophisticated, they are determined and they will not rest."

The bill would allow the government to create a detailed set of standards for cybersecurity, as well as take over the process of certifying IT technicians.

A spokeswoman from Rockefeller's office told Fox News neither he nor the two senators who co-sponsored the bill, Snowe and Nelson, will answer questions on cybersecurity until a later date.

The O'Leary Report is published by Brad O'Leary, author of a new book, "Shut Up, America! The End of Free Speech," a WND Books release.

Media inquiries for Brad O'Leary should be directed to press@wnd.com.

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