The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 3.22 We NEED To Talk About The EARN IT Act: Child Protection or Privacy Threat?

Starting point is 00:00:00 Sup you beautiful bastards, hope you've had a fantastic Sunday. Today, we're gonna do something a little bit different from the rest of the week. We're gonna be talking about something other than the coronavirus. It turns out there is some news like that these days. This is something that's been happening over the past couple of weeks,

Starting point is 00:00:12 but it's kind of slipped through the cracks, understandably. And so the thing we're talking about here is the Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies Act, which, ha, is a mouthful. So thankfully it's been nicknamed the EARN IT Act, so we do not have to lose 10 seconds of our life every time that we reference it. And this act has been slammed by critics saying

Starting point is 00:00:28 that this is a threat to privacy. It was introduced by Senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal, along with Senators Josh Hawley and Dianne Feinstein. It's a bipartisan, you see Democrats and Republicans there. And the EARN IT Act says that it aims to establish a national commission on online child exploitation prevention,

Starting point is 00:00:42 which sounds simple enough, but it is highly controversial. And this is because it deals with Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which essentially boils down to the fact that any interactive computer service, like an app or a social media site, cannot be held liable if one of its users posts something illegal.

Starting point is 00:00:56 Though, there are exceptions to this, like federal crimes, copyright, and things related to sex work. And basically, the EARN IT Act would mean that companies would have to earn the protections of Section 230 rather than be automatically granted them. Section 230 has seen a lot of changes over the years and has faced no shortage of problems.

Starting point is 00:01:10 On one hand, it's seen as a staple of the First Amendment being used online. Basically, think of it this way. If companies like Facebook and Twitter, for example, can be held liable for content that its users share, they would be far more likely to moderate speech on their platforms to save themselves, thus kind of limiting free online speech.

Starting point is 00:01:24 But on the other hand, many believe that it gives these tech companies too much broad power, too much flexibility, and the ability to leave potentially harmful content up. And so the EARN IT Act is taking a jab at a pretty loaded and highly debated rule here. And that's also not even where the controversy's in, because many have also called it a sneaky attempt

Starting point is 00:01:38 to end encryption, which quick, oversimplified definition here, encryption basically jumbles up plain text into cipher text and protects the data and messages you send and receive. And it's believed that earning could specifically impact end-to-end encryption, which makes it so that only the parties involved in the communications can read messages being shared. This is because in order to earn those section 230 protections, websites or companies would have to meet standards set out by the Commission on Online Child Exploitation Prevention that we previously mentioned. And as the bill states, the Attorney General would be part of this commission. While the bill does not specifically mention

Starting point is 00:02:05 end-to-end encryption, there is a reason to believe that this aspect could be targeting it, with a number of experts pointing to comments previously made by Attorney General William Barr himself. For example, earlier this month he gave remarks when announcing a launch to counter online child sexual exploitation and abuse, saying, predators often use anonymous or false personas even in the most innocuous of settings like online children's games. They also communicate using virtually unbreakable encryption. A suspicious individual interacting with children at a real world arcade is easier to detect than a predator lurking in the digital world.

Starting point is 00:02:33 There is too much at stake. And later adding, we are also addressing child exploitation in our efforts on lawful access and in analyzing the impact of section 230 of the Communications Decency Act on incentives for platforms to address such crimes and the availability of civil remedies to the victims.

Starting point is 00:02:48 And that's also not the first time that we've seen him combat tech companies and encryption. Back in October, BuzzFeed got its hands on a letter that Barr sent to Mark Zuckerberg asking him to halt plans for end-to-end encryption on Facebook. And so that's why you have the likes of Lindsey Barrett from Georgetown Law's Institute for Public Representation, Communications, and Technology Clinic saying to CNET,

Starting point is 00:03:04 when you're talking about a bill that is structured for the Attorney General to give his opinion and have decisive influence over what the best practices are, it does not take a rocket scientist to concur that this is designed to target encryption. And so as CNET puts it, if the law is passed, tech companies would have to make the choice between weakening their own encryption

Starting point is 00:03:19 and endangering all their users, or giving up Section 230 protections and facing a potential flood of lawsuits. So that's sort of where this bill is right now. Last week it was read for the Senate Judiciary Committee. So you know, we're gonna have to see what happens with these next steps. But there is another interesting part to this.

Starting point is 00:03:33 The responses we've seen from those reacting to this bill, some in support, including those who gave testimonies last week with one mother identified as Nicole who said her children experienced sexual exploitation online and spoke on behalf of the National Center for missing and exploited children Advocating for the earn it act saying I am hopeful that the earn it act can get companies to be more responsible and protect children Companies that refuse to step up should be punished under our legal system and adding as a mother as a human I cannot fathom a society that places anything above the safety of our kids

Starting point is 00:04:00 You also had Blumenthal saying tech "'Tech companies have an extraordinary special safeguard "'against legal liability, "'but that unique protection comes with a responsibility. "'Companies that fail to comport with basic standards "'that protect children from exploitation "'have betrayed the public trust granted them "'by this special exemption. "'Online platforms' near complete immunity "'from legal responsibility is a privilege.

Starting point is 00:04:18 "'They have to earn it, "'and that's what our bipartisan bill requires.'" But you also had other leaders slamming this bill, with Democratic Senator from Oregon, Ron Wyden saying, "'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.

Starting point is 00:04:34 "'The impact to free speech and the security and privacy "'of every single American be damned.'" And also saying that he would offer up his own legislation to more effectively combat the issue by hiring prosecutors and agents that can hunt down child predators. And you also had others outside of the government speaking out like Edward Snowden who said, There is nothing these people won't do to stamp out the idea of a private conversation.

Starting point is 00:04:52 As well as Gaurav Lurai, the senior policy counsel for free press action who gave a statement saying, The drafters of this bill obviously want to address some real harms, yet their solutions could radically change the way we communicate online. The legislation sets up the US government as the arbiter of all communications and conversations that happen on the internet. A terrible idea in any instance. Like I said, this is ultimately where we are with this. We're obviously going to keep our eyes on it. You know, with this, I do want to pass a question off to you. What are your thoughts around the EARN IT Act? Are you for it? Are you against it? Why? Why not?

Starting point is 00:05:21 And yeah, let me know in those comments down below. Also, if you like this video, hit that like button. If you're new here, subscribe. Definitely tap that bell to turn on notifications. Also, if you'd like more to watch, maybe you wanna watch the last Philip DeFranco show or that video I did around vaccines, you can click or tap right there

Starting point is 00:05:34 to watch either of those right now. But with that said, of course, as always, my name's Philip DeFranco. You've just been filled in. I love yo faces and I'll see you tomorrow. I hope you liked this video. Subscribe if you like it.

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The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 3.22 We NEED To Talk About The EARN IT Act: Child Protection or Privacy Threat?

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