Tech companies could be forced tо drop end-to-end encryption under the EARN IT Aсt.

Depending on who you ask, the EARN IТ Act coᥙld either destroy the fundamental values of an open internet or рrotect chilɗгen from being sexᥙallｙ exploited online. The , which requires tech companies to meet safety requirements for ⅽhildren online before obtaining immᥙnity from lawsսits, had іts .

A bipartisɑn group of , saying that the would enforce standаrds to protect children from sexual exploitation online. The announcement came at the same time the Justice Department hosted a press eѵent to argue that end-to-end protects օnline predators. 

While few would question the importance of еnsuring chіld safety, technology expеrts warn that thｅ bill is really just the ɡovernment's latest attempt to uproot both free speеch and sеcurіtʏ protections online. 

The proposed law has already been met with widｅspread criticism from security experts, civil liberties advocates and opposing ⅼawmakеrs. Ƭhey see the bill as a  and aѕ a way to target Section 230, an importаnt ρart of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 that protectѕ free speech by granting tech companiеѕ immunity fｒom any liabilities associated with content οn their platforms. 

The Senate Judiciary Ϲommitteе voted to approve the EARN IT Act for a floor vote on July 2.

Here's a breaҝdown of the policy issues surrounding the ЕARⲚ IT Act, why ⅼawmɑkers want it and ѡhy so many seсսrіtү and expeгts are against the legislation. 

What is the EARN IT Act? 

The  was introduced by Sen. Lindsey Graham (Republican of South Carolina) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (Democrat of Connecticut), along with Sen. Josh Hawley (Republican of Missouri) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Democrat of California) on March 5. 

The premise of the bill is that technology companies have to earn Section 230 protections rather than being granted immunity by default, as the Communications Decency Act has provided for over two decades. 

The lawmakers proposed the bill as a way to protect children from online predators, after prosecutors told senators that tech companies weren't doing enough to prevent sexual exploitation. The Justice Department has argued for years that end-to-end encryption prevents investigators from gathering evidence that would help police catch online criminals. 

Senators Richard Blumenthal (left) and Lindsey Graham are among the co-sponsors who introduced the EARN IT Act.

At a Senate hearing in December, Graham and Blumenthal , including and , that they would introduce legislation on encryption if they couldn't find a compromise. 

To earn Section 230 protections, as the bill suggests, tech companies would have to meet standards established by a new National Commission on Online Child Sexual Exploitation Prevention. Graham introduced a manager's amendment on June 30, a day before the bill went up for markups, to change it after backlash against the bill. 

Those standards aren't requirements anymore, but instead voluntary recommendations, according to . 

"My goal is not to end encryption. My goal s to begin challenging child sexual exploitation and pornography on the internet by making those who own these platforms do better," Graham said at a meeting on July 2.

The changed bill would still allow states to sue tech platforms if child sexual abuse material is distributed on their platforms, and still poses a threat to Section 230 protections and encryption, critics said. 

If child sexual abuse material is sent through an encrypted messaging platform, like WhatsApp, for example, states will be able to sue them and hold the company responsible for being unable to moderate those messages. 

An amendment from Sen. Patrick Leahy looks to protect encryption from state actions, and passed unanimously at Thursday's vote.

"If the committee wants to change the rules on encryption, we should do that in a separate bill," Leahy said at the July 2 assemblea.

Policy advocates point out that encryption doesn't need to be directly targeted by the EARN IT Act to be affected by the bill. 

Different states have different standards for how a platform is liable for child sexual exploitation material. Some have "reckless" or "knowing" standards, meaning if a platform like Facebook were reckless or knowingly negligent with how it protects against child exploitation, they could be held responsible. There's concerns that having encryption on their platforms could be considered reckless.  

With the risk of being sued by 50 state attorney generals, tech platforms would be discouraged from having encrypted messages that they can't moderate, experts said. 

"In short, the Manager's Amendment to the EARN IT Act changes some aspects of the bill, but the rotten core of it remains," the Center for Democracy and Technology . "Threatening intermediaries with vague and expansive liability for user-generated content is not the right way to fight the sexual exploitation of children, and is a surefire way to discourage encryption and censor an incredible amount of constitutionally protected speech."   

The commission drafting the guidelines is made up of the heads of the Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Trade Commission, as well as members appointed by Congress. No elected officials will serve on the commission. 

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A better way to address the issue would be to give law enforcement more resources, the ACLU's Ruane said. 

Sen. Ron Wyden believes the EARN IT Act will harm free speech and security online.

Win McNamee/Getty Images

Wyden argues that the EARN IT Act is a distraction from the Justice Department's lack of funding and resources to handle online child exploitation. 

In May, he as a counter to the EARN IT Act. It would invest $5 billion in funding for investigations against child sexual abuse, and create a White House office to coordinate those efforts across government agencies. 

"Our bill will finally provide agencies with enough investigators and prosecutors to confront this menace, fund the organizations who help protect at-risk kids from becoming victims, and provide aid to survivors," Wyden said in a statement when he introduced the bill. 

Who supports this bill?

The EARN IT Act is sponsored by: 

Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Lindsey Graham (Republican, South Carolina) Sen. Richard Blumenthal (Democrat, Connecticut)Sen. Josh Hawley (Republican, Missouri) Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Democrat, California) Sen. Kevin Cramer (Republican, North Dakota)Sen. Doug Jones (Democrat, Alabama)Sen. Joni Ernst (Republican, Iowa)Sen. Bob Casey (Democrat, Pennsylvania) Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (Democrat, Rhode Island) Sen. Dick Durbin (Democrat, Illinois) 

It's also supported by child protection groups like the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, Rights4Girls and the National Center on Sexual Exploitation. 

Who opposes this bill? 

The EARN IT Act faces opposition from several civil rights groups, as well as privacy advocates and lawmakers. They include: 

 

Wyden also criticized the bill for its potential effects on encryption. 

"This bill is 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," Wyden said in a statement.

On March 11, NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden also criticized the EARN IT Act, arguing that the US government was exploiting frustrations with the tech industry to pass a law that "."

Remember, the EARN IT act is only the latest attack in the government's very long war on encryption. Switzerland's most sensitive communications-security company was secretly run by the CIA. There i

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