In Canada, the conservative newspaper Canada Free Press said the move was evidence of "Obama's obsession with control" and called the July 6 order a secretive "Friday news dump." Meanwhile, the Montreal-based research organization Centre for Research on Globalisation described the move as a seizure of power, saying Obama "has usurped all available forms of communication." It quotes journalist Danny Schechter saying alternative media is becoming "extremely damaging" to the US and recalls a 2011 quote from Hillary Clinton saying the U.S. government is losing "the information war" with the American public. "Under Obama’s discretion, all radio and digital communications can be intercepted with recommendation by the assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism and the Director of OSTP," writes Susanne Posel.

How threatening Obama's new executive powers are is subject to debate. But what's interesting is the disproportionate attention the order has gotten abroad compared with at home. While the executive order received rather sober coverage from CNET and National Journal's tech blog following its release, it hasn't gained traction in its natural home: The right-wing, Obama-averse blogosphere. As far as we can tell, the main source of domestic opposition to the bill stems from a short press release from the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a DC-based research center, which says the order could allow the government to "disconnect communications traffic in times of national security." But Redstate, Breitbart, Wall Street Journal: Nothing!

So is this order actually worth worrying about? We're not experts on the matter but a rather even-handed report by CNET's Dara Kerr says that potential criticisms basically boil down to a line in Section 5.2. "It states that the Secretary of Homeland Security will 'oversee the development, testing, implementation, and sustainment' of national security and emergency preparedness measures on all systems, including private 'non-military communications networks.'" That's the passage thought to refer to the proverbial "on/off" switch to the Internet. Say what you will about the order itself, but it appears to be the sole preoccupation of outsiders, not the people it would actually effect (i.e. Americans).

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.