EARN IT Act Passes Committee Unanimously With New Amendment Shielding Encryption (XBIZ)

The secretive EARN IT Act passed without objection in the US Senate. XBIZ explains what to expect next.

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WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate’s Committee on the Judiciary voted unanimously this morning to bring the EARN IT Act to the floor of the Senate, including an amendment that explicitly separated the issue of encryption from the current scope of the legislation.

The bill, which purportedly has as its goal to “protect victims and survivors of child sexual exploitation,” is in fact a broad overhaul of Section 230 protections — known by online rights advocates as the First Amendment of the internet — to strip platforms of immunity for third-party uploaded content.

The EARN IT Act was introduced by Senators Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and co-sponsored by Senators Cramer, Feinstein, Hawley, Jones, Casey, Whitehouse, Durbin and Ernst. During today’s hearing, Senator Ted Cruz asked to be added as a co-sponsor.

The hearing included statements by several senators praising the bill and denouncing child sexual abuse. It also included praise for Senator Patrick Leahy’s (D-Vt.) amendment separating the issue of encryption, which had concerned some senators, from the scope of the current bill. 

Read the full article by Gustavo Turner at XBIZ.com