Sens. Joseph Lieberman and Susan Collins last week reintroduced sweeping cyber-security legislation that they say expressly prohibits an "Internet kill switch" that would allow the president to shut down the Web.

Sens. Joseph Lieberman and Susan Collins last week reintroduced sweeping cyber-security legislation that they say expressly prohibits an "Internet kill switch" that would allow the president to shut down the Web.

"While the United States must ensure the security of our nation and its critical infrastructure, it must do so in a manner that does not deprive Americans of the ability to lawfully read or express their views," Collins, a Maine Republican, said in a statement delivered on the floor. "Neither the President nor any other federal official should have the authority to 'shut down' the Internet."

The bill, known as the Cyber Security and Internet Freedom Act of 2011, has "explicit provisions preventing the President from shutting down the Internet and providing an opportunity for judicial review of designations of our most sensitive systems and assets as 'covered critical infrastructure,'" Collins said.

Lieberman echoed that view. "We want to clear the air once and for all. As someone said recently, the term 'kill switch" has become the 'death panels' of the cybersecurity debate. There is no so-called 'kill switch' in our legislation because the very notion is antithetical to our goal of providing precise and targeted authorities to the President," he said in a statement.

The senators' proposal first made headlines last year, when it was suggested that the measure would give the president an "Internet kill switch option" in the event of an emergency; both senators that this was the case. In the wake of the Internet shutdown in Egypt, some questioned , especially since Lieberman and Collins planned to re-introduce their bill. The that their bill would allow such a move, and Collins said last week that the Egyptian government shutdown was "totally inappropriate."

"Freedom of speech is a fundamental right that must be protected, and his ban was clearly designed to limit criticisms of his government. Our cyber security legislation is intended to protect the United States from external cyber attacks," Collins said. "Yet, some have suggested that the legislation the Committee reported during the last Congress would empower the President to deny U.S. citizens access to the Internet. Nothing could be further from the truth."

Collins suggested that it is our current laws that should give us pause for concern.

"Under current law, in the event of a cyber attack, the President's authorities are broad and ambiguous - a recipe for encroachments on privacy and civil liberties," she said.

Specifically, the Lieberman-Collins bill specifically bans the president from shutting down the Web. The president can only act "in a precise and targeted way" as it applies to "our most critical infrastructure" like vital components of the electric power grid, telecommunications networks, financial systems or other critical infrastructure systems that could cause a national or regional catastrophe if disrupted.

"This definition would not cover the entire Internet, the Internet backbone, or even entire companies," Collins said.

In order for something to be considered a national or regional catastrophe, there would have to be: more than 2,500 deaths; more than $25 billion in economic consequences; mass evacuations with a prolonged absence of more than one month; and severe degradation of national security capabilities.

The bill also states that: