A revamped cyber-security bill moved forward this week, with the Senate voting to take up the bill.

A revamped cyber-security bill moved forward this week, with the Senate voting to take up the bill.

Senators voted 84 to 11 to consider the Cybersecurity Act of 2012 in the coming weeks, though the bill will likely go through a few revisions before a final vote.

In a floor speech, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the bill is "not strong enough, but it is a tremendous step forward."

"There is plenty of room for good ideas," he said. "Some of them are already on the table. It is my intention for Senators to have an opportunity to have a robust debate on these proposals. Let's stick with what this bill is all about and let's have as many amendments as people feel is appropriate."

The bill - by Sens. Joe Lieberman, Susan Collins, Jay Rockefeller, Dianne Feinstein, and Tom Carper - would create a voluntary system whereby private companies would adhere to best practices in exchange for incentives like federal assistance on cyber issues and immunity after an attack.

Ideally, Lieberman and Collins - who have led the charge on cyber-security issues in the Senate in recent years - said they would have preferred a more comprehensive and mandatory approach to cyber-security legislation. But getting everyone in Congress to agree has proven to be a difficult task, prompting last week's more measured approach.

Lieberman said yesterday that he attended his first cyber-security hearing in 1998, 14 years ago. "I have been concerned ever since about the growing threat of cyber attack," he said.

The rollout of the updated bill coincided with a Wall Street Journal op-ed from President Barack Obama, in which he backed the updated Lieberman-Collins bill. On Thursday, the White House reiterated that it "strongly supports" the bill.

"While lacking some of the key provisions of earlier bills, the revised legislation will provide important tools to strengthen the Nation's response to cybersecurity risks," the Office of Management and Budget said.

As The Hill noted, Sen. Patrick Leahy has already proposed an amendment to the bill that would allow Facebook users to share Netflix viewing habits. Specifically, it would update the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA), which currently limits how much people can share about their video rental and viewing history. The VPPA was enacted after Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork's video rental records were published in a newspaper.

As a result, the fact that the Netflix app automatically shares what its members are watching via Watch Instantly - even if they themselves installed the app - could run afoul of the VPPA, so in the U.S. until it gets some clarity on the issue.