The bills, approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee in a decisive bipartisan vote in May, were hailed as evidence of growing momentum on the issue in Congress. Washington state lags behind state legislatures in passing laws aimed at protecting children on social media and other digital platforms.
But industry lobbyists and dozens of civil society groups later argued that the measure would undermine privacy protections and have a chilling effect on legitimate speech, arguing with Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York. urged to refuse. Schumer has not yet committed to bringing the package to the full Senate for a vote.
Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) blamed the lack of action on “big, powerful” tech companies working “behind the scenes” and “cooperating with many interest groups.” He blamed the opposition, raising concerns about what impact the bill would have. Severe and harmful unintended consequences.
“I’m ready to go on the floor. I think I can pass. But there were also forces holding them back,” Durbin said in an interview.
Some of Mr. Durbin’s allies are also growing impatient. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee and co-sponsor of one of the bills, will try to force a vote on the Senate floor to publicly “get people to oppose” the bill. He said he intended to do so. Although this tactic has a high risk of failure, lawmakers often use it to force opponents to take public positions on thorny issues.
Asked if he was frustrated, Graham said, “It’s tough.”
In the fall, a coalition of advocacy groups urged Schumer to reject two of the bills, saying they would “induce apps and websites to monitor every word, image, and video posted by users” and “U.S. “Censoring speech protected by the First Amendment.” The letter was signed by digital and civil rights organizations such as the ACLU and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, as well as industry-funded think tanks and trade groups such as the Chamber for Progress.
Durbin argued that the most effective way to hold tech companies accountable is to make them “financially responsible” for failing to police child abuse content. But he acknowledged that Senate Democrats are not uniformly aligned with that view.
“Mr. Schumer has listened to his caucus and has decided to support this effort for a variety of reasons, even though many of them have not spoken publicly on this issue,” Durbin said. “I know it’s passive,” he said.
Schumer’s office declined to comment on voting plans. “The online safety of children is a top priority for Leader Schumer,” Press Secretary Alison Biasotti said in a statement.
“As we work to pass additional legislation and keep the government funded in the coming weeks, Leader Schumer will continue to work with the proponents of the Online Safety Act to secure the support they need,” Biasotti said. Stated.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri), an outspoken critic of Big Tech and a supporter of Durbin and Graham’s proposals, questioned Schumer’s commitment to the cause. “I think Sen. Schumer doesn’t want to vote for them…because tech companies hate all of this,” Hawley said.
The role of tech companies in curbing child abuse content will be the focus of the commission’s Wednesday hearing with the CEOs of Meta, TikTok, Snap, Discord and X (formerly Twitter) It is planned that
Another bill, the Online Safety for Children Act, sponsored by members of the Senate Commerce Committee, has also yet to reach the floor, despite being removed from committee twice. While the judicial package targets child abuse content, the commercial measures will require platforms to provide parents and children with strong privacy and safety features by default.
If any of these bills pass the Senate, they will likely face an uphill battle in the House. Many companion bills, including Durbin’s STOP CSAM Act, have not yet been introduced in the House. There is only a little time left to pass the bill before the November elections.
A Senate hearing Wednesday was scheduled to focus attention on the issue, but child safety advocates said it was not a substitute for legislative action.
“As important as Congressional hearings are, and as important as they are, another hearing will not give new protections to children online.” said Danny Weiss, chief advocacy officer at Common Sense Media, a nonprofit organization focused on improving how people interact with the digital world. .