An important piece of federal legislation is currently working its way through the US Senate and House of Representatives, called the Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies Act (EARN IT Act of 2022). This bipartisan bill was unanimously approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee, which speaks volumes in and of itself.

We ask everyone to contact their Senators and Representatives to cosponsor this important bill, which will address online sexual exploitation of children.  

 

What is the EARN IT Act of 2022? 

 

• It removes immunity for social media and technology companies that knowingly facilitate the distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on their platforms. 

• It establishes a commission of survivors, technology representatives, and government stakeholders to create recommendations and voluntary best practices for tech companies to respond to the global pandemic of online sexual exploitation of children.

• It improves the CyberTipline where CSAM is reported, which will aid all parties involved in fighting online child exploitation. 

• It replaces the term “child pornography” with “child sexual abuse material” in law. The term child pornography fails to describe the true nature of the images and undermines the seriousness of the abuse.

Learn more about the EARN IT Act of 2022:

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• Fact Sheet by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. 

• Letter of support by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

• Congressional briefing, “How the EARN IT Act Protects Children from Rampant Child Sexual Abuse on Technology Platforms." 

• Letter of support, signed by more than 250 organizations, from all 50 states + DC, including many from Montana. (If your organization wishes to sign, contact our Director of Public Policy, Erin Walker, erinw@endexploitationmontana.org.)

• Share this 3-minute video on social media. Action links are embedded in the actual video. 

• Read the Senate Bill, S 3538, sponsored by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC).

• Read the House Bill, HR 6544, sponsored by Representatives Sylvia Garcia (D-TX) and Ann Wagner (R-MO).

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Learn more about the current state of affairs of online sexual exploitation of children:
 

• The New York Times has done an in-depth investigation into CSAM and corporate irresponsibility.  The 4-part series found an “almost unfathomable” increase of child sexual abuse material online—ignored by digital platforms on which it traveled. 

  • Article, “The Internet is Overrun With Images of Child Sexual Abuse. What Went Wrong?”

  • Article, “Child Abusers Run Rampant as Tech Companies Look the Other Way”

  • Podcasts, “A Criminal Underworld of Child Abuse, Part 1 & 2”

• The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children 2021 Impact Report: In 2021 NCMEC received more than 29.3 million CyberTipline reports containing 85 million files of CSAM, a 30% increase over 2020.

• The economic burden of child maltreatment, child sexual abuse and their ramifications is a staggering $428 Billion dollars annually.

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Survivor Case Studies: 

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The EARN IT Act gives CSAM survivors a path to justice and a chance to recover their privacy. The following are just two of countless examples of corporate indifference toward victims of CSAM.

 

• Rose Kalemba 

• John Doe 1 & John Doe 2 

 

Myths vs Facts:

The EARN IT Act is experiencing fierce opposition from the tech industry, who do not want to redirect attention or revenue into child protection. Contrary to what they assert, online companies can absolutely do more to protect children without compromising encryption or privacy. But they currently have no incentive to make this a priority.
 

• As stated in the letter of support signed by 257 organizations, “Despite what Big Tech’s legion of lobbyists will tell you: EARN IT Act does not undermine privacy initiatives or free speech or human rights. Since Big Tech can’t defend child sexual abuse material, it invents specious arguments against this bill.” 

• Documents that have been prepared to dispel these myths:  

  • Countering Myths: Countering Myths About the EARN IT Act | NCOSE Blog

  • Countering Myths: FAQs | NCOSE Blog

  • Countering Myths: Rep. Garcia's Myth vs. Fact Sheet

  • Countering Myths: RAINN Myth vs. Fact Sheet

 

Advocate for the EARN IT Act:

With how Big Tech is fighting this bill with all its resources, it needs support from the people in this country who care about protecting kids. If each of us sent an email to our elected officials in D.C., it would be a groundswell of support that they couldn’t ignore.

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Action links to email delegates:

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• International Justice Mission (IJM) 

• National Center on Sexual Exploitation  

• Shared Hope International

• Operation Underground Railroad 

Please also take a moment to send a personal email to our three Montana delegates in DC!
(Each member maintains a page on her/his website that allows constituents to send a message. If you do not live in Montana, simply find your Senator’s website HERE, and your representative’s website HERE.)
 
Tell them you are a constituent and ask them to please cosponsor the EARN IT Act. Tell them why you believe this bill is important and necessary.

• Email MT Senator Tester HERE   (For the Topic dropdown menu, choose Children)

• Email MT Senator Daines HERE   (For the Topic dropdown menu, choose Children)

• Email MT Representative Rosendale HERE

* Feel free to copy or personalize the below script:
 

To -------{Senator XYZ or Representative XYZ}-----------,

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As a concerned constituent, I am asking you to prioritize victims of online child sexual exploitation by cosponsoring the EARN IT Act.

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In 2021, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received over 85M pictures, videos, and files showing the online sexual abuse of children. The NY Times exposed the rampant neglect and complete disregard for child safety shown by large tech companies, even when obvious examples of child sexual abuse material were brought to their attention.

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And although the technology exists to detect and disrupt these horrific crimes, without the risk of liability, technology companies have no incentive to use it.

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The EARN IT Act removes blanket immunity for these companies as well as sets up an expert commission to create recommendations and voluntary best practices for tech companies to implement to address the global pandemic of online sexual exploitation of children.

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Please contact the offices of the sponsors (Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Representative Sylvia Garcia (D-TX), and Representative Ann Wagner (R-MO)) and co-sponsor this child-saving, bipartisan legislation.

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#endchildabuseonline

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Sincerely,

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------{name and city}---------