Facebook has been accused of lending covert political support to a controversial cybersecurity bill that digital rights activists argue would further empower state surveillance.
The online group Fight for the Future accused the social media network of secretly supporting the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA), crediting several unnamed sources on Capitol Hill. The group also pointed out that Facebook’s chief lobbyist in the Senate, Myriah Jordan, was general counsel for Sen. Richard Burr, who sponsored CISA, until 2011.
“Multiple sources on the hill have reported that Facebook is THE tech company lobbying in favor of CISA, several offices have heard from Facebook that they support CISA,” Jeff Lyon, CTO of Fight for the Future, wrote in a Reddit post. Lyon added that they were not at liberty to disclose the names of their sources.
The charge received a boost from NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, who shared the post with his 1.5 million plus Twitter followers on Sunday.
The Senate voted 83–14 to end debates on the amendments for CISA last Thursday, and is scheduled for a final vote on Tuesday, Oct. 27, where it is expected to pass. The House has already passed the bill, and the White House gave tacit approval of the legislation in a statement from August.
As CISA approached the finishing line, a number of technology companies came out against the bill, and activists groups redoubled their efforts to lobby against the bill, which they argue would vastly expand the power of the NSA and other federal agencies to conduct surveillance.
