Russ Steele
As Egypt's government attempts to crackdown on street protests by shutting down internet and mobile phone services, the US is preparing to reintroduce a bill that could be used to shut down the internet.
Wired.com is reporting that the Senate will re-introduce legislation which would grant US President powers to seize control of and even shut down the internet. Is this a power we want the President to have in the US?
Senator Susan Collins, a co-sponsor of the bill that last year that expired before any action, said that unlike in Egypt, where the government was using its powers to quell dissent by shutting down the internet, the US would not do that. Really? Do you believe that?
OK, then why does the President Need an Internet Kill Switch if he is not going to use it?
Wired suggest that if the Kill Switch legislation is approved, you might want to find your old dialup modem and keep it handy. It will be hard to shut down the whole telephone system. Before the Internet, we used dial up message forwarding systems to communicate, they would soon pop back up should the internet be shut down.
There is open source software available on the Internet that will enable local communities to create WiFi mesh net works that are independent of the Internet. If it looks like this Kill Switch legislation will pass, we need to down load the mesh net software and start setting up and testing our own backup networks.
Ham radio user also have the capability to form digital networks using currently available technology. If you are concerned about the loss of connectivity, think about joining the amateur radio community.
If you would like more posts on alternative communication technologies, please post a comment.
