Days before the EARN IT Act is scheduled for a debate in the Senate Judiciary Committee, a coalition of civil society organizations is asking senators to oppose the bill.
"EARN IT" stands for Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies.
The EARN IT Act is not the right solution to combat child sexual abuse material being spread on the internet, because the limits it would put on using encrypted messaging services will do more harm than good, according to Alexandra Reeve Givens, the president and CEO of the Center for Democracy and Technology, a nonprofit group that advocates for digital rights.
“The EARN IT Act remains a fatally flawed approach to addressing the spread of child sexual abuse material on the internet," Givens said, according to the CDT website. "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. 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. 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.”
The coalition, which is comprised of more than 100 groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), sent a letter on May 2 to committee members expressing its opposition to the EARN IT Act of 2023 and asking the lawmakers to oppose the legislation. The letter states that, although the coalition supports the crackdown on explicit child sexual material online, it believes the proposed bill "will instead make it harder for law enforcement to protect children" and will "also result in online censorship that will disproportionately impact marginalized communities."
In the letter, the coalition also expressed concern that if implemented, the EARN IT Act would hinder access to encrypted services, which would undermine "a critical foundation of security, confidentiality and safety on the internet." The coalition said the bill would also increase the liability risk of platforms that host or act as intermediaries of user-generated content if those platforms are “reckless” or “negligent” in purging child sexual abuse material.
According to his website, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who is the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said, "There are tens of millions of photos and videos circulating throughout the internet, showing the most heinous acts of sexual abuse and torture of children. The EARN IT Act removes Section 230 blanket liability protection from service providers in the area of child sexual abuse material on their sites."
Graham said to victim groups and law enforcement entities urging Congress to act on the scourge of child sexual abuse material and the exploitation of children on the internet, "We hear you. The days of children being exploited on the internet and their families being unable to do anything about it are coming to an end.”
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), who introduced the bill alongside Graham, said the EARN IT Act "imposes basic accountability on tech companies that are complicit in the sexual abuse and exploitation of children."
