The Center for Democracy and Technology has joined a coalition composed of 132 civil society organizations that are urging lawmakers to oppose Senate Bill 1207, also known as the EARN IT Act of 2023, as opponents say the bill threatens the First Amendment right of free speech.
Those criticizing the bill say it threatens the ability of internet users to access encrypted services and works against child abuse prosecutions, according to a May 2 release from the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C.
The coalition includes the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Amnesty International USA, Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and the Human Rights Campaign. Saying child exploitation is "repugnant and needs to be addressed", the group faults the EARN IT Act for undermining online safety for both children and adults alike.
“The EARN IT Act makes providers who offer end-to-end encrypted services legally vulnerable. Everyone who uses the internet to communicate, conduct business, or even just browse the web relies on encryption to keep their information private and secure,” CDT President and CEO Alexandra Reeve Givens said in the release. “Encryption is especially important to communities with a special need to protect their private and sensitive communications such as activists, journalists, immigrant communities and even parents and children.”
Givens sees the EARN IT Act as a danger to all who use the internet.
“The EARN IT Act remains a fatally flawed approach to addressing the spread of child sexual abuse material on the internet," she said. "We continue to believe that making it harder for children and adults to access information and more dangerous for everyone to communicate online will ultimately harm children, not help them.”
To date, the Senate has discussed the EARN IT Act three times, according to the release. Critics say it would result in online censorship that would hurt underprivileged people across the board. The most current bill has not changed since a large coalition of human rights groups came out against it when it was first submitted in 2022.
