Encryption keeps us safe. Whether you’re sharing passwords, working on sensitive journalism, obtaining an abortion, or simply don’t want the government rifling through your messages, encryption defends our digital privacy. 

But two bills are coming through Congress that would erode encryption and limit freedom of expression on the internet. These bills, EARN IT and STOP CSAM, have a noble goal: to reduce the availability of child sexual abuse material on the internet. But while messaging, social media, and cloud storage companies are already required to take down child sexual abuse material they know is on their platform, EARN IT and STOP CSAM take the law one step further by incentivizing scanning of all our communications. 

While the EARN IT Act attempted to create carveouts for encryption, in practice, the bill undermines encryption by allowing “client-side scanning” - scanning on devices before the message is encrypted. Worse, EARN IT allows states to decide which liability standard to impose against platforms, which means some platforms could be held responsible for material they did not know was on their platform, further incentivizing invasive scanning of all communications. 

Somehow, the STOP CSAM Act is even worse. It creates a Section 230 carveout, adding liability in cases of negligence and recklessness, allowing private parties to sue platforms. The likely result will be proactive censorship of a wide variety of non-child abuse content. (If the past is any indication, much of this censorship will affect LGBTQ creators.) And as with EARN IT, platforms will likely rely on increased scanning of our communications to comply with these laws if passed. With a lower legal threshold than EARN IT, encryption alone could be evidence of negligence if child sexual abuse material is found on a platform. 

Tell Congress: Defend encryption!