Cyberbill set for Senate passage on Tuesday

By Rudy Takala, Rudy Takala

Published December 20, 2015

The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act has been scheduled to receive a vote from the full Senate on Tuesday.

The Senate voted 83-14 on Thursday to set the date, and will need at least 60 votes to get past a filibuster. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has an been an outspoken opponent of the bill, and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is likely to join his fellow presidential contender in opposing its final passage. Considering both members have used filibusters, it's likely that Senate leaders have estimated they have the votes to overcome one.

Nonetheless, Paul managed to garner 32 votes for an amendment that would have required companies to abide by their privacy agreements, a change that Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said would have been "fatal" and a "bill-killer."

The bill would release companies from liability if they share personal identifying information about customers with federal agencies or other companies. The proposal states that companies should provide only broad information related to prospective cyberthreats, and strip personal information about consumers out in the process. However, in the event they "overlook" something, companies are to be released from civil liability.

Paul's amendment received support from a bipartisan group of colleagues that included Cruz; Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.; and the legislation's most outspoken opponent, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.