The Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously passed the Earn It Act Thursday for the third year in a row. Co-author Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told members he expects the bill to ultimately “go nowhere” due to Big Tech lobbying efforts.
Section 230
Senate Judiciary Committee members hope for unanimous support Thursday during a markup on legislation meant to protect children on social media, despite opposition from Public Knowledge and industry groups (see 2305010034 and 2304200032).
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. -- Quickly restoring FCC spectrum auction authority is critical with the World Radiocommunication Conference approaching in late fall, said government officials at the FCBA annual seminar Friday and Saturday. FCBA members heard from FCC commissioners and NTIA officials on a variety of other issues, including possible "Buy America" waivers for the broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program.
Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign pledge to bring the FCC, FTC and other independent regulatory agencies under executive branch control would likely involve expanding Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs review of proposed rules to those agencies, administrative law OIRA experts told us. The White House has the statutory and constitutional ability to do so, but it would be a political fight, they said. Former FCC officials and others consider the proposal more likely bluster than something that could be easily achieved if Trump is reelected president. The FCC and FTC didn't comment.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected next week to mark up two pieces of legislation aimed at protecting children online. The committee on Thursday held over two bills that appeared on the agenda for the first time this year: the Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies Act (Earn It) Act (S-1207) and the Strengthening Transparency and Obligation to Protect Children Suffering from Abuse and Mistreatment Act of 2023 (Stop CSAM Act). Introduced by Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., the Earn It Act removes online platforms’ “blanket immunity” under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act for violations of law on online child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The committee passed the bill by voice vote in 2022 (see 2202100071). The bill “imposes basic accountability on tech companies that are complicit in the sexual abuse and exploitation of children,” Blumenthal said in a statement. Reps. Ann Wagner, R-Mo., and Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas, introduced companion legislation in the House. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., filed his Stop CSAM Act, which would expand the “federal civil cause of action for child victims to also permit victims of online child sexual exploitation to bring a civil cause of action against tech platforms and app stores” that promote or facilitate exploitation. Durbin told reporters Wednesday he’s “still working” on gaining Republican support for his bill. He said during Thursday’s markup that he’s looking forward to discussions about kids safety legislation in the coming weeks. He’s consulted Graham about the process and thinks the top Judiciary Republican agrees this is a “historic and significant, maybe one of the most important things we do during the course of this year.” The modernization of sentencing on this issue is “long overdue,” said Durbin. The National Center on Sexual Exploitation Wednesday urged Congress to pass the Earn It Act: “Congress never intended for Section 230 to permit and encourage online platforms to do nothing -- or worse -- facilitate the spread of CSAM.” Fight for the Future called the Earn It Act a “censorship and surveillance bill that risks the rights and safety of all who depend on encrypted services while making children less" safe. The bill “could lead to suspicionless scans of every online message, photo, and hosted file,” the Electronic Frontier Foundation said. “In the name of fighting crime, the Earn It Act treats all internet users like we should be in a permanent criminal lineup, under suspicion for child abuse.”
PHILADELPHIA -- Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) challenged state enforcers Tuesday to collaboratively address privacy and social media issues, speaking at a National Association of Attorneys General meeting. North Carolina AG Josh Stein (D) asked an algorithms panel later for suggestions on what states can do amid a rise of AI chatbots like ChatGPT.
If the U.S. Supreme Court opens online platforms to liability for algorithms through a narrow interpretation of Section 230, it could mean a less consumer-friendly internet and entrench dominant platforms further, tech experts said Tuesday.
Republican states are responsible for an unprecedented wave of free speech violations, not the tech industry or Democrats, House Commerce Committee ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., said during a House Communications Subcommittee hearing Tuesday.
Senate Judiciary Committee members probed Wednesday for ways to update Communications Decency Act Section 230 and hold tech platforms more accountable for the impacts of their algorithms (see 2303030041). Senate Technology Subcommittee ranking Josh Hawley, R-Mo., questioned whether anything in the statutory language of Section 230 supports the “super immunity” that protects platforms from liability when they use algorithms to amplify content and profit. University of Washington law professor Eric Schnapper, who recently argued two cases on behalf of social media victims before the Supreme Court, told Hawley the text separates concepts like merely hosting content from boosting it. But it would help if Congress clarified language in the statute, said Schnapper. Hawley asked Schnapper for a specific legislative recommendation for how to fix platforms’ affirmative content recommendations. Schnapper told him the issue is “too complicated” to offer legislative language on the spot, but he’s happy to work with Hawley’s office on a proposal. The Supreme Court recognizes online content is often promoted, sometimes in a “very addictive way to kids,” said Senate Technology Subcommittee Chairman Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. Quoting Chief Justice John Roberts from the recent oral argument in Gonzalez v. Google, he said online videos don’t “appear out of thin air. They appear pursuant to the algorithms.” Though Justice Elena Kagan admitted she and her colleagues aren’t internet experts, they understand algorithms play a role, said Blumenthal. There’s rare Judiciary Committee consensus on the need to better protect children online, said Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill. Congress should do something to “make Section 230 make sense,” he said: Something needs to change so platforms have incentives to protect children. The case law on Section 230 doesn’t provide the necessary remedies “quickly enough or thoroughly enough,” said Blumenthal: The internet is no longer a “neutral conduit.” The common ground on Section 230 “boils down” to Congress giving victims their day in court, which Section 230 has prevented for “too many years,” said Hawley. He said he hopes the Supreme Court will “remedy” some of the issues with Section 230 in the Gonzalez case (see 2302210062).
Platforms shouldn’t be liable for real-world harm just because their algorithms amplify and rank content, said consumer advocates, academics and industry representatives Monday at the State of the Net Conference.