WASHINGTON, April 18 (UPI) -- The U.S. House Thursday approved legislation designed to allow companies and government to share information about cyber threats.
The action was slammed immediately by civil rights advocates.
The House approved the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act by a 288-127 vote despite concerns by some critics it would give government private information about private citizens, The Hill reported. Ninety-two Democrats voted with Republicans in favor of the bill, The Hill said 29 Republicans voted in opposition.
The American Civil Liberties Union said the approval came despite a veto threat from President Barack Obama this week.
"CISPA is an extreme proposal that allows companies that hold our very sensitive information to share it with any company or government entity they choose, even directly with military agencies like the [National Security Agency], without first stripping out personally identifiable information," Michelle Richardson, a legislative counsel at the ACLU's Washington Legislative Office, said.
The U.S. Senate has not introduced cybersecurity legislation for the 113th Congress, the ACLU said, but is working on a bill now.
