Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) reintroduced the EARN IT Act — their so-called fix to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
The proposal would gut Section 230’s liability shield protecting web platforms from the actions of a few users exploiting such venues for illegal purposes.
The EARN IT Act would adopt policies that include a “backdoor” to encrypted web services used daily by millions of users across the country and billions more worldwide.
There is no such thing as a secure backdoor when it comes to encryption, though.
Denelle Dixon-Thayer, a technology attorney, wrote in 2018 that we need “to understand that any backdoors that companies are asked to build are doors that can be opened, not just by law enforcement, but by others that want to do harm roaming the web.”
EARN IT Act and its proponents want to ensure that CSAM, or child sexual abuse material, is contained and its distribution is prevented. While the mission to counter CSAM and non-consensual content is crucial, the proposal would place millions of law-abiding people at risk of warrantless surveillance and the repression of rights under the guise of ‘monitoring.’
Civil liberties groups from across the American political spectrum, private companies from all over the world, and Beltway think tanks urge opposition to the EARN IT Act.
The American Civil Liberties Union and Americans for Prosperity released a joint statement of opposition right after Blumenthal and Graham reintroduced their bill.
German encrypted email provider Tutanota also expressed opposition, citing that the EARN IT Act would “put an end to encryption and security online for everyone.”
Alexandra Reeve Givens of the Center for Democracy & Technology said that we as voters can’t “combat the spread of child sexual abuse material on the internet by making it harder…and more dangerous for everyone to communicate online.”
The harms of the EARN IT Act will show across society. Personal security is at risk, too.
As a journalist, I cover the legal and business side of the adult entertainment industry.
I also own a public relations firm that works in the adult space, among other mainstream verticals. I also work with NGOs that support human rights and tech freedom.
Privacy is crucial in what I do for a living, as is my dedication to my clients’ privacy.
EARN IT would do nothing to protect people from malicious actors or limit the spread of illicit material. The act only creates a bureaucracy that would monitor legal materials.
Adult companies and professionals are understandably concerned.
For example, the EARN IT Act could give prosecutors and companies leverage to discriminate against legitimate adult businesses, content creators, escorts, and more.
Social networks especially will likely purge accounts of adult creators and companies to avoid even more liability invited by the EARN IT Act. It also doesn’t help that the shadow-banning of adult accounts is already a top-level issue the entire industry faces.
SESTA-FOSTA, a Trump-era bill championed by anti-porn groups, has negatively impacted sexual work online and has stifled First Amendment-protected forms of speech and expression in the adult industry. The EARN IT Act also stifles legit speech in the same manner.
Instead, Sen. Blumenthal and his fellow sponsors should work to pass proposals like the SAFE SEX Worker Study Act, a plan to study the impacts of the SESTA-FOSTA legislation on sex workers and other marginalized groups. They don’t seem interested, though.
Blumenthal, Graham, and their cosponsors are only interested in putting their anti-freedom interests first, at the expense of everyone’s First Amendment rights.
The Free Speech Coalition, a group representing the adult industry, holds the position that the EARN IT Act is nothing more than “SESTA-FOSTA 2.0.” I agree.
The EARN IT Act would quell legally protected speech and expression through fear-mongering. Fighting CSAM is important, but the bill in its current variation emphasizes unconstitutional policymaking and willful violations of civil liberties.
There are ways to improve security and protection on the internet. This bill is a far cry from safety and security. I urge Congress to kill the EARN IT Act as it did in 2020.
