Senate Prepares to Move Various Kids’ Safety Bills
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).
The committee is prepared for a formal vote on the Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies (Earn It) Act (S-1207), but will pass it through voice vote if possible, Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told us Tuesday. The Earn It Act passed by voice vote in 2022 but didn’t get a vote on the Senate Floor. Durbin said he’s interested in pursuing a floor vote for a legislative package on kids’ safety. Durbin’s bill, the Strengthening Transparency and Obligation to Protect Children Suffering from Abuse and Mistreatment (Stop CSAM) Act (S-1199), is also on the agenda, though Durbin remains the lone sponsor.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., criticized Democrats for not bringing the Earn It Act to the floor last year. “We couldn’t get Democrats to bring anything to the floor, not a single significant piece of reform, so I hope that that’s about to change,” he said Tuesday.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who co-authored the Earn It Act and several other child-safety bills, told us he’s been in contact with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who's “100% behind” protecting children. Timing of potential votes will be up to leadership, he told reporters. He expects the Earn It Act to pass the committee and be “equally noncontroversial” Thursday.
Public Knowledge opposes both the Earn It Act and the Stop CSAM Act. The former will lead to less child protection by driving predators to forums outside the purview of law enforcement, said Government Affairs Director Greg Guice. Communications Decency Act Section 230 “already has an exception for criminal acts, including distribution of child abuse material, so this is obviously not the solution,” he said. “If we want to address the harm that is caused by child abuse material, then treat it as it should be treated -- as a law enforcement matter.”
Appearing on the Judiciary agenda for the first time, meaning it will be held over, is the Project Safe Childhood Act from Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa; John Cornyn, R-Texas; Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.; Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.; and Blumenthal. The bill updates language in the original Project Safe Childhood initiative. It appropriates an additional $60 million and funds 20 new assistant U.S. attorneys dedicated to prosecuting child sex abusers.
Blumenthal and Blackburn also reintroduced the Kids Online Safety Act (S-3663), which the Senate Commerce Committee passed unanimously in July (see 2211160078). Blumenthal told reporters he expects a floor vote on KOSA this session.
Several industry and consumer groups oppose the Earn It Act. The Center for Democracy & Technology said it will threaten “free expression, the ability of internet users to access encrypted services, and child abuse prosecutions.” The bill would violate constitutional protections and “jeopardize criminal prosecutions by violating the Fourth Amendment,” said NetChoice State and Federal Affairs Director Amy Bos: “If Congress is serious about protecting Americans and children online, alternative solutions like a uniform federal data privacy law or implementing digital safety education would be constitutional and much more fruitful for Americans of all ages.” NetChoice also opposes KOSA, with President Carl Szabo saying it would “create an oversight board of DC insiders to replace parents in deciding what’s best for children.”