Government-Congressional Branch
Online privacy experts sound alarm as US Senate bill sparks surveillance fears
<embed> https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/jul/02/earn-it-act-online-privacy-surveillance </embed>
The Earn It Act, described as an effort to address sexual exploitation, could threaten encryption practices, opponents say The bill would weaken protections under Section 230, a measure that has historically shielded internet publishers from legal responsibility for the content shared on their sites. It would also allow individuals to sue tech companies that don’t take “proper steps” to prevent online child exploitation. Those steps would be determined by a 19-member panel of unelected officials, mostly law enforcement, who would impose a set of “best practices” that websites and online forums would have to follow, or risk getting shut down.
