CISPA passed by US House, despite looming White House veto
Reporters use laptop computers, iPads and paper and pen to take notes during a panel discussion organized by NetCoalition about the Protection IP Act (PIPA) and the Stop Online Privacy Act (SOPA) at the US Capitol on Jan. 19, 2012.
The US House of Representatives ignored the Obama administration and approved legislation aimed at helping stop cyber attacks on critical US infrastructure and private companies, the Associated Press reported.
The bipartisan vote came down 248-168.
The Republican controlled House passed the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act which encourages companies to share information from the web with the government to prevent electronic attacks.
"This is the last bastion of things we need to do to protect this country," Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said after more than five hours of debate, the AP wrote.
The Los Angeles Times reported that intelligence operatives and corporate executives say the US is increasingly being targeted by sophisticated hacking from criminal networks and foreign countries, specifically China.
But civil liberties advocates worry that the government will put national security interests ahead of the privacy of individual Americans.
As GlobalPost reported, the Obama administration has already threatened to veto the bill. The White House favors a Senate measure that would give the Homeland Security Department authority to set standards and oversee cyber security but that bill is currently stalled.
More from GlobalPost: White House threatens CISPA veto
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