Microsoft in a statement Monday clung to a firm stance on the proposed CISPA bill. The firm told The Hill that, despite having said it wanted to “honor the privacy” of users, it wanted the bill to continue forward. It would “look forward” to working with the Senate on the bill.
The support may be a more symbolic gesture than real. President Obama has already said he would veto the bill if it didn’t include certain safeguards, and changes made up until the surprise passing of CISPA didn’t meet the expectations. Most of the Obama administration’s support has been behind a bipartisan, independent- and Republican-penned bill that would have stricter conditions.
The bill was intended to get information about Internet security threats and head off larger issues. Concerns have been raised both that there wasn’t enough oversight and that information might be handed to the CIA or NSA for issues that weren’t national in scale.
AT&T, Facebook, IBM, Oracle, and Verizon are among the other companies that are supporting the bill.
