Obama Backs Two Major Cybersecurity Bills - BuzzFeed News
Hamza Shaban:
One of the main provisions of the bills grants liability protection to companies that share (identity-stripped) information about their customers with the government. But in his statement, President Obama said he believes the protections the bills afford are too sweeping.
“Appropriate liability protections should incentivize good cybersecurity practices and should not grant immunity to a private company for failing to act on information it receives about the security of its networks,” the White House statement said. “Such a provision would remove incentives for companies to protect their customers’ personal information and may weaken cybersecurity writ large.”
Speaking specifically about the bill out of the the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, which is expected to pass later today, April 22, the White House said the scope of the liability protections may even provide immunity to companies that are “grossly negligent or even reckless.” The president went on to express concerns that the collaborative information sharing intended for cybersecurity may be used by businesses for anticompetitive purposes.