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So, this seems to be the gist of the article. > [I]t’s not possible to identify [child exploitation material] without also having the ability to identify any a

So, this seems to be the gist of the article. > [I]t’s not possible to identify [child exploitation material] without also having the ability to identify any and all other types of material — like a journalist communicating with a source, an activist sharing a controversial opinion or a doctor trying to raise the alarm about the coronavirus. Other people suspect that the real goal of the bill is to force facebook/WhatsApp et al to do away with end-to-end encryption, which would be the only way the companies could police the material (and AG Barr has "expressed his desire for this outcome": https://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2020/03/the-earn-it-act-partially-repeals-section-230-but-it-wont-help-children.htm https://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2020/03/the-earn-it-ac... )

0xy 6y ago
The EARN IT act is not about child exploitation at all. Because the effect will be the opposite -- it'll be pushed underground and away from law enforcement's reach. It will put children in direct danger in order to further the actual goals of the legislation, which is to effectively ban E2EE in order for the intelligence community to put more deep surveillance in place.
- c3534l 6y ago
  I agree. These things are really about expanding bulk collection programs, not about catching whoever the big bad guy is at the moment.
  - 0xy 6y ago
    Australia's metadata retention law was sold as a child protection scheme, and immediately after it was made into law it was repeatedly abused by intelligence employees to spy on girlfriends, used to investigate petty crimes and given out to any government agency who asked for it including local councils and tax agencies. As soon as it's law, the children are irrelevant. This is mass surveillance legislation, and child protection is the shiny marketing.
StanislavPetrov 6y ago
The gist of the bill is that the government demands the ability to monitor everything you do, say and write, all the time. In a perfect world we would all agree that the fact that some few individuals may commit legal transgressions should not allow the government to strip us all of our privacy - even if it wasn't blatantly unconstitutional.

0xy 6y ago

The EARN IT act is not about child exploitation at all. Because the effect will be the opposite -- it'll be pushed underground and away from law enforcement's reach. It will put children in direct danger in order to further the actual goals of the legislation, which is to effectively ban E2EE in order for the intelligence community to put more deep surveillance in place.

c3534l 6y ago
I agree. These things are really about expanding bulk collection programs, not about catching whoever the big bad guy is at the moment.
- 0xy 6y ago
  Australia's metadata retention law was sold as a child protection scheme, and immediately after it was made into law it was repeatedly abused by intelligence employees to spy on girlfriends, used to investigate petty crimes and given out to any government agency who asked for it including local councils and tax agencies. As soon as it's law, the children are irrelevant. This is mass surveillance legislation, and child protection is the shiny marketing.

StanislavPetrov 6y ago

The gist of the bill is that the government demands the ability to monitor everything you do, say and write, all the time. In a perfect world we would all agree that the fact that some few individuals may commit legal transgressions should not allow the government to strip us all of our privacy - even if it wasn't blatantly unconstitutional.