Watchdog Highlights Dangers of EARN IT Act

For Immediate Release
July 2, 2020
Contact: Grace Morgan
(202-855-4380)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance criticized legislation introduced by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) that would roll back pivotal liability protections for internet platforms. After a controversial markup the “EARN IT Act” (S. 3398) was advanced by the Senate Judiciary Committee on July 2^nd. The bill originally conditioned continued Section 230 liability protections on digital platforms making an array of changes to their operations, including rolling back encryption protection for users, instituting age verification, and gating content to users based on age. While the Committee passed Sen. Patrick Leahy’s (D-VT) amendment safeguarding encryption, age-related verifications and conditions in the bill would give bureaucrats broad latitude in denying liability protections to digital platforms. In addition, continued confusion over which state criminal and civil laws apply in the bill’s implementation will likely result in platforms having to read through users’ private communications.

TPA President David Williams urged lawmakers to oppose S. 3398, noting, “Section 230 has proven pivotal to a vibrant digital domain where different people can express their points of view. Lawmakers such as Sen. Graham are trying to roll back these liability protections despite the well-documented benefits of holding users – not platforms – accountable for posting harmful and/or illegal content. Sen. Graham’s goals to stem the flow of child pornography is laudable, but his proposed means are reckless and would undermine his noble aims. The liability protections contained under Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act have led to a free-flowing online marketplace of ideas. Sen. Graham’s attempts to undermine the foundations of a free, vibrant internet will do nothing to halt harmful, disturbing online content from reaching users. The EARN IT Act will only succeed in burying digital platforms under an avalanche of lawsuits and further proposed federal actions.”

Williams continued: “In the words of Politico reporter Alexandra Levine, today’s markup by the Senate Judiciary Committee was ‘one of the most highly anticipated tech markup hearings in years.’ And while the legislation was improved by Sen. Leahy’s amendment to keep encryption off the table as a condition for Sec. 230 protections, other, unacceptable parts of the legislation remain intact. The current version of the ‘EARN IT Act’ includes sweeping age verification and segmentation mandates that pose serious constitutional issues. In fact, courts have repeatedly blocked age-verification requirements because of inevitable resulting restrictions placed on anonymous speech.”

Williams concluded: “Even if lawmakers could somehow put aside these pressing legal issues, tying Sec. 230 protections to mandates will lead to increased costs for users, who are accustomed to airing their opinions on Facebook, Twitter, Nextdoor, Parler, YouTube (and others) free of charge. Sec. 230 has allowed the internet to thrive for more than two decades in a low-cost, predictable legal environment. Let’s keep it that way and preserve free speech on the World Wide Web.”

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