The White House could control how you surf the web
President Obama signed an executive order this week that could give him control over the web in times of emergency.
The order, known as the, "Assignment of National Security and Emergency Preparedness Communications Functions," exists to hand over full control of communications and the internet to certain government authorities in times of natural disaster and security emergencies.
The wording for the executive order is of course lengthy and uses politician language, but the part worth pointing out is in section 5.2.It is in this section that the order states that Homeland Security will be able to monitor and control all non-military forms of communications in times of extreme measures, which is essentially giving the White House the on/off switch to the internet, according to some critics.
You can read more about the executive order, which still has 30 days before it becomes a law, over at CNET and The Verge. If you want to check out the order in its entirety, go to the White House press page.
Drop me a comment below and let me know what you think of this new law.
