CISPA: Asking for a Fight

I don’t know whether to be upset or happy about the machinations that went on yesterday and resulted in the House passing CISPA with a 248-168 vote.  There were critical last minute changes to the bill that vastly enhance the government’s ability to use the data for things other than national security.  Three more incredibly broad areas of use were added to the bill literally last minute: investigation and prosecution of cybersecurity crime, protection of individuals, and protection of children.  The best coverage of the changes can be found at Techdirt.  The reason I am saying I might be happy about it is that this kind of massive last minute broadening of a bill’s reach might wind up being its downfall.  And I certainly hope that’s the case here! The EFF is already focused on the senate now.