SOURCE: wikipedia, 2020-04 | Congress.gov | [Congress.gov] S.3398 -- EARN IT Act of 2020 (reddit, 2020-03-16)
[Congress.gov] S.3398 -- EARN IT Act of 2020
Attorney General William Barr has also argued that the use of end-to-end encryption by online services can obstruct investigations by law enforcement, especially those involving child exploitation. In March 2020, a bi-partisan bill known as the Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies (EARN IT) Act (S. 3398) was introduced to the Senate, which called for the creation of a 15-member government commission (including administration officials and industry experts) to establish "best practices" for the detection and reporting of child exploitation materials. Internet services would be required to follow these practices; the commission would have the power to penalize those who are not in compliance, which can include removing their Section 230 protections.
While the bill had bi-partisan support from its sponsors (Lindsey Graham, Josh Hawley, Dianne Feinstein, and Richard Blumenthal) and backing from groups like National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, the EARN IT Act has been criticized by free speech groups such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation and American Civil Liberties Union, technology lobbying organization Internet Association, and Internet advocates. They recognized that some of the "best practices" would most likely include a backdoor for law enforcement into any encryption used on the site, in addition to the dismantling of Section 230's approach. Wyden also was critical of the bill, calling it "a transparent and deeply cynical effort by a few well-connected corporations and the Trump administration to use child sexual abuse to their political advantage, the impact to free speech and the security and privacy of every single American be damned." Graham stated that the goal of the bill was "to do this in a balanced way that doesn't overly inhibit innovation, but forcibly deals with child exploitation."
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