Update on the EARN IT Act - ThreatWire CrossPost
Added 2020-07-07 17:01:36 +0000 UTCBy Shannon Morse, ThreatWire
I wrote about the EARN IT Act back in March when it was originally introduced, but we have an update now. This bill was introduced by Senators Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, and it stands for “Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies Act.” It would require tech companies to meet requirements for child safety online in order to get immunity from lawsuits. It holds tech companies liable for any child exploitation happening on their platforms online, but privacy advocates also argue that the way the bill was originally written, could also have been used to weaken encryption for average users.
Dissenters have also stated the EARN IT Act would target Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 96, which protects free speech on platforms by protecting the platforms from liabilities due to the content on their platforms, giving the companies free will to choose what goes and does not go on their sites or apps.
Last week on Thursday, the US Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously advanced the bill. Due to early concerns, lawmakers updated the bill to say that tech companies could voluntarily choose to meet the standards in order to have liability protections under Section 230. Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont also updated the law so companies will not be targeted just because they offer encryption.
Critics are continuing to argue that even with the updates, the bill is too broad, saying it’ll open up tech companies to a constant threat of litigation and will disincentivize them from offering encryption or defending encryption in courts.
Since the bill is bipartisan, it does seem to have more momentum than other proposals that have died on legislators desks. It now awaits a floor vote.
Support me on alternative platforms! https://snubsie.com/support
Shop ThreatWire Merch Directly! - https://snubsie.com/shop
Shop ThreatWire Merch on Teespring! - https://teespring.com/stores/shannons-store-24
http://www.youtube.com/ShannonMorse?sub_confirmation=1 -- subscribe to my tech channel!
ThreatWire is only possible because of our Patreon patrons! https://www.patreon.com/threatwire
Links:
EARN IT Act Update
https://www.cnet.com/news/why-your-privacy-could-be-threatened-by-a-bill-to-protect-children/
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/y3z3z7/republican-encryption-bill-privacy-signal
https://www.cyberscoop.com/earn-it-act-child-exploitation-weaken-encryption/
https://the-parallax.com/2020/07/03/earn-it-laed-encryption/
