CISPA may no longer be a threat, but the CSA is threatened by the House

I usually don't talk about political stuff. I know. But this has to deal with the privacy and operation of the internet.

CISPA, a bill passed by the US House of Representatives, allows spy agencies in the US to collude and spy on end users in order to collect their information and use it against them, without the possibility of being charged with a crime (immunity). This interactive explains a lot of stuff about CISPA.

CSA, a bill in the Senate was drafted as a response to much needed Cyber-security legislation. It contains pieces of information that protect the privacy of users, but in the end, can allow the NSA or other spy agency to serve as an "exchange" and allow them to collect information. A council would be formed to ensure regulation, and would allow civil suits in the event of abuse. It will offer incentives to corporations (such as ones running the power grid systems) to beef up their security.

Both bills are far from perfect, and as a legislator I would vote against both bills because they both contain [potential] loopholes for government abuse, which we know the government is guilty of doing. Visibility on the future is not clear, however.

CSA has to pass the Senate and the House. The legislative branch of this country is about to shut down for the year, and may not get legislation through the house. As a result, politicians like Lamar Smith have been caught trying to funnel bills "in secret", behind closed doors, to pull a fast one on the American people.

The problem is CSA may not pass the house. This is because the legislative body in both chambers in incredibly arrogant, and wants the credit for coming up with "the solution". The House of Reps will tear the CSA bill apart and attempt to make it another CISPA, to which the President will attempt to veto it. If a tainted CSA comes up for a 2/3rds override, the Senate may retaliate and cause the vote to fail, as it is, on a majority, Democratically controlled.

What about CISPA? The senate really doesn't want to touch it, and honestly, with the CSA in existence, the Senate does not care, and will spend energy into getting CSA passed. Each chamber has its own cyber-security bill which may be mutually incompatible. It is currently too late for CISPA to do anything with the time left in this legislative session, and CSA may be at risk.