On Friday, July 6, President Barack Obama signed an executive order that revamped and reassigned responsibilities concerning the nation's communication functions during times of national emergency. Entitled "Assignment of National Security and Emergency Preparedness Communications Functions," the order revokes Executive Order 12472, which was issued in April 1984 and defined the National Communication System (NCS).
The order establishes a National Security and Emergency Preparedness (NS/EP) Communications Executive Committee, made up of "Assistant Secretary-level or equivalent representatives designated by the heads of the Departments of State, Defense, Justice, Commerce, and Homeland Security, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the General Services Administration and the Federal Communications Commission, as well as such additional agencies as the Executive Committee may designate. The designees of the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of Defense shall serve as Co-Chairs of the Executive Committee."
Among the committee's responsibilities is to "promote the incorporation of the optimal combination of hardness, redundancy, mobility, connectivity, interoperability, restorability, and security to obtain, to the maximum extent practicable, the survivability of NS/EP communications under all circumstances." Another responsibility is to "recommend to the President ... the regimes to test, exercise, and evaluate the capabilities of existing and planned communications systems, networks, or facilities to meet all executive branch NS/EP communications requirements, including any recommended remedial actions."
In defining the specific responsibilities of certain government agencies, the order declares that the Secretary of Homeland Security will "satisfy priority requirements through the use of commercial, Government, and privately owned communications resources, when appropriate; maintain a joint industry-Government center that is capable of assisting in the initiation, coordination, restoration, and reconstitution of the NS/EP communications services or facilities under all conditions of emerging threats, crisis, or emergency; serve as the Federal lead for the prioritized restoration of communications infrastructure and coordinate the prioritization and restoration of communications ..."
Additionally, the Secretary of Commerce will "provide advice and guidance to the Executive Committee on the use of technical standards and metrics to support execution of NS/EP communications; identify for the Executive Committee requirements for additional technical standards and metrics to enhance NS/EP communications; engage with relevant standards development organizations to develop appropriate technical standards and metrics to enhance NS/EP communications."
And the FCC "performs such functions as are required by law, including: ... the extension, discontinuance, or reduction of common carrier facilities or services ... the construction, authorization, activation, deactivation, or closing of radio stations, services and facilities; the assignment of radio frequencies to [FCC] licensees; the investigation of violations of pertinent law; and the assessment of communications service provider emergency needs and resources ..." as well as "supporting the continuous operation and restoration of critical communications systems and services by assisting the Secretary of Homeland Security with infrastructure damage assessment and restoration, and by providing the Secretary of Homeland Security with information collected by the [FCC] on communications infrastructure, service outages, and restoration, as appropriate."
Some critics of the order view it as government overreach, saying that what it boils down to is giving the federal government the authority to take over wireline and wireless networks. Some also say the revocation of Executive Order 12472 is a move that expands the circumstances under which the executive branch can claim the need to take such control of these networks. Conservative father-and-son pundit Doug and Joseph Hagmann wrote on the Canada Free Press website that, "At first blush, it appears that the order modernizes previous communications functionality, particularly as it relates to the continuity of governmental communication during wartime or national crisis as defined by Obama ... Based on our analysis of this order, it would appear that the implementation of emergency communications by Obama, using all forms of wired and wireless communication systems, is redirected through the Executive branch and could expand such takeover abilities beyond the limits of an actual act of war, national emergency, or other vent impacting the national security of the U.S. ... One is forced to wonder whether the actual function of this order is to assure continuity of communications during an actual emergency, or if this order is designed to expand the control of all communications by implementing measures that redefine crises and emergencies." Just in case the political position of the Hagmanns was in doubt, their column is titled "Obama's obsession with control." You can read it all here.
The full executive order is slightly more than 2,000 words in length. You can read it here at the White House website.
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