That's One Secure Homeland - Maybe one of the things Bob Barr can start working on is that pesky Homeland Security Act. Today's Washington Post has a rundown on the litany of new law enforcement powers that made it into the bill signed yesterday. In no particular order, they include:

A provision that shields Internet service providers (ISPs) from customer lawsuits if providers share private subscriber information with law enforcement authorities

An addition [that] makes it easier for law enforcement to trace the location and identity of an Internet user suspected of posing an "imminent threat to national security interests" or perpetrating attacks on "protected computers" -- a term that encompasses both government computers and any system used in "interstate commerce or communication"

A controversial provision [that] allows companies to share information with the government about electronic vulnerabilities -- without having to worry that such disclosures would be publicized. The measure exempts cybersecurity disclosures from the Freedom of Information Act. It also makes it a criminal offense for any government employee to publicize vulnerabilities revealed by companies to government agencies.

It seems that the Senate, in passing Homeland Security, threw in a bunch of free-standing electronic crime provisions which the House had passed separately. For an ISP to escape liability for sharing your data with the Feds, all they need is a "good faith" belief that an "emergency" exists. Also, the Feds won't need a warrant to trap-and-trace ongoing-attacks on a "protected computer." Finally, information about vulnerabilities that is voluntarily submitted to the Feds by operators of "critical infrastructure" systems (power grid, telecom, etc.) would be exempt from FOIA and could not be used against the operator in civil litigation. Sounds like the Microsoft exemption to me.

The thing that stands out to me is how much broader these provisions are than what is necessary for security against terrorism. I would think a lot of these provisions could be deployed against other "crimes" such as transmission of allegedly obscene materials or trading of intellectual property in violation of copyright law. Maybe the day isn't so far away when we all get treated like midshipmen at the Naval Academy.