A majority of American senators voted in favor of the Cybersecurity Information Security Act (CISA) on Monday. Critics, however, say that CISA is not only outdated, but would also infringe on the privacy of netizens in the United States.

Wired reported that 74 senators voted in favor of the bill against 21 who opposed it. CISA is meant to put a stop to a series of cyber attacks on U.S. companies by allowing firms to pass along cybersecurity-related information to the government.

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The massive senate support for the bill was likely prompted by recent cyber attacks on U.S. private companies and government offices. In June, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) reported that personal data of millions of American former and current government employes may have been stolen by suspected Chinese hackers.

Nonetheless, critics believe that the cybersecurity bill will give the government blanket authority to collect the data and personal information of people without the need for any warrant. Companies, who have agreed to turn over the data of their users to Homeland Security, are protected from prosecution under CISA, according to Gizmodo.

Many tech and internet firms are also uncomfortable with CISA. Apple issued a statement regarding the proposed cybersecurity law last week saying that it does not want to violate the private and trust of its users in the name of security.

Oregon Senator Ron Wyden, who voted against CISA, believes that most of his colleagues, who voted for the bill, simply did so in order to impress their constituents that they are doing something about the hacking attacks, according to The New York Times. He said that the bill not only impugns the privacy rights of American online users, but is ineffective to prevent cyber attacks.

A number of knowledgeable government officials have conceded that many of the provisions in CISA intended to catch hackers are already obsolete.

It takes time for the U.S. Congress to pass bills into laws. In the case of CISA, it took the senate four years to approve the bill. However, during that time, hackers have already updated their tactics.

TagsCISA, cybersecurity information sharing act, U.S. senate passes CISA, U.S. cybersecurity law, homeland security, information sharing