ExtraTorrent | US Government Will Have to Disclose Details on Internet “Kill Switch�

[Atreides]

A federal court has recently ordered the US government to reveal details of Homeland Security’s Internet “kill switchâ€. The Department insisted that protocols, known as Standard Operating Procedure 303, have to be kept secret in order to protect national interests and the safety of individuals. Nevertheless, the US District Court for the District of Columbia couldn’t agree and ordered to make the details public.

It all started when the Electronic Privacy Information Centre (EPIC) claimed it wanted to know the protocols that govern shutting down Wi-Fi networks in order to prevent the remote detonation of bombs. As you can understand, normally civil liberty groups do not like the very idea of switching off any networks. When the outfit first asked the Department for details, the latter replied that it couldn’t find any records on the “kill switchâ€. After the Electronic Privacy Information Centre appealed, the agency quickly found the protocol, but redacted most of it.

US District Court for the District of Columbia told Homeland Security that it couldn’t withhold Standard Operating Procedure 303 because it wasn’t a method for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions. According to the court, interpreting a safety exemption in order to “encompass possible harm to someone in the US within the blast radius of a hypothetical unexploded bomb†should also fly in the face of repeated Supreme Court directions.

The experts believe that Homeland Security will appeal the decision; otherwise it will have only one month to release the protocols to EPIC.