Appears another Internet power grab is dead in congress

Key lawmakers are suggesting that the controversial Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) will soon die in the U.S. Senate -- just like last year.

CISPA backers say it's designed to make it easier for organizations to share cyberthreat information with each other and with government agencies such as the Department of Homeland security, without fear of antitrust or liability issues.

The U.S. House of Representatives last week approved CISPA amid a flurry of strident opposition from rights groups and privacy advocates who fear it would allow government agencies to monitor the activities of ordinary Internet users under the pretext of cybersecurity.

Similar concerns derailed a CISPA bill in the Senate last year.

Meanwhile, the Senate Intelligence Committee is drafting its own version of an information-sharing bill, said an aide to the committee. The committee has no plans to consider the House-passed CISPA bill, the aide added.

"We are currently drafting a bipartisan information sharing bill and will proceed as soon as we come to an agreement," said Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee said in a statement to Computerworld.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D, W-V) chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, told the Huffington Post that his committee also has no plans to debate the House bill. Instead, he said, the committee will also propose alternative legislation.

For more from Computerworld, read on here.