[ale] SB 315 Update

[Scott M. Jones]

Thanks to everyone who came down to the Capitol yesterday.  We had a
good day and I'm sure we made an impression.  The bill was pulled from
the calendar yesterday, likely because the sponsor was out sick, and my
Senate rep has said it is not on the calendar for today.

There is still a significant risk that it will be voted on in the Senate
and passed but it appears we may have at least slowed it down.  If it
passes the Senate, we need to focus on testifying at the House
committee.  The House reps we talked to were much more amenable to our
concerns.

Two things you can do today.  Email Majority Leader Bill Cowsert and
President Pro-Tem Butch Miller about your concerns.  DO NOT attempt any
mass emailing scripts to bring down the servers, etc., just a short
heart-felt email about your concerns should help.  At this point 5-10
emails from different people to each one should have an effect.  Here is
the message I sent to cover the talking points.  I suggest you reword it
for your purposes and/or choose the talking point that you are concerned
about most.

Bill Cowsert: bill.cowsert at senate.ga.gov
Butch Miller: butch.miller at senate.ga.gov

This appeal will NOT go out to social media, thanks!  (Mailing lists are
"old fashioned" and fly below the radar these days.)

Oh P.S. I'm very glad we weren't doing our Capitol Day in the kind of
rain we're having today.

----

Dear Senator,
I'm writing to express concern about Senate Bill 315, (the computer
intrusion bill) and ask that it NOT be allowed to go to the floor for a
vote.  At the very least it should go back to committee for additional
fixes.

Problems:

1. The author of the bill has represented Georgia as one of a few states
with no law against computer intrusion, but this is not correct.
O.C.G.A. 16-9-93 covers "computer theft", "computer trespass", "computer
invasion of privacy", "computer forgery", and "computer password
disclosure" very adequately.

Reference:
https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/2016/title-16/chapter-9/article-6/part-1/section-16-9-93/

2. The language of SB315 is overbroad and threatens ethical security
research, especially that which is not being done for profit, including
academic research.  This is a problem as the state attempts to become a
leader in information security.

3. Without a specific carveout, website "Terms of Service" could be
transformed into criminal violations, leading to a situation where even
lying about your name or age on Facebook could trigger criminal liability.

As a concerned IT professional, I ask that this bill be pulled from the
floor for a vote and be returned to committee for additional changes.
Feel free to contact me if you need more specifics.

Sincerely,
Scott M. Jones
Atlanta, GA