A key congressional panel will vote in private on Wednesday on a new law that would allow private companies to share cybersecurity information with federal agencies, drawing criticism from advocates who say the controversial measure should be debated in public.

The intelligence committee, which is working on the bill, will hold its meeting in a secure room in the basement of the new Capitol Visitor Centre, which is specially designed so that classified documents can be examined there and classified information be openly discussed. The public are not admitted and no cameras or recording devices are permitted.

“It is an open mark up in the sense that members can discuss it afterwards, or even during the event,” intelligence committee Spokeswoman Susan Phalen told The Washington Times, “But it is being held in a closed space, so the public and press cannot attend.”

Ms. Phalen said the mark up was being held there in case there was a need, when considering some provision or other of the law, “to discuss classified cyber threat information.”

It was “more efficient” to hold the whole event in the closed space, rather than adjourn the mark up and troop lawmakers into a classified area every time threat information came up, she said.

But interest groups said a closed meeting is unacceptable.

“The i2Coalition believes that cybersecurity legislation can be done right only when all stakeholders share in the legislative process,” David Snead, head of public policy for the Internet Infrastructure Coalition, said in a statement.

The group represents more than three dozen companies “who build the nuts and bolts of the Internet,” according to its website. It is one of several technology industry, civil liberties and privacy groups, who are concerned about or outright opposed to the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA).

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