The American Civil Liberties Union called on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) not to pass a bill strengthening restrictions on child sexual assault material on the basis that the legislation violates the First Amendment.
The ACLU and a coalition of 60 other civil rights and industry groups wrote to Schumer on Monday, asking him not to pass Sen. Dick Durbin's (D-IL) STOP CSAM bill. The coalition argues that the legislation, which would update the law regarding CSAM to pressure Big Tech companies to crack down harder, would discourage the platforms from hosting speech related to abortion, gay and transgender people, and sexual health. They also argue it would stifle discourse on the internet and threaten user privacy.
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"The STOP CSAM Act is not a failsafe way to protect kids online, but rather a disaster for the free expression and privacy of all internet users," Jenna Leventoff, a senior policy counsel at the ACLU, said in a statement.
The letter was signed by several technology and speech advocacy groups, including the Center for Democracy & Technology, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Free Speech Coalition, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, Public Health Solutions, and the Yale Privacy Lab.
Online advertisements seeking to promote reproductive health information and solutions are often blocked by Big Tech platforms, the coalition argues. This includes restrictions on websites detailing how to get an abortion or how to understand transgender issues.
If passed, STOP CSAM would inadvertently drive the platforms to remove more content and make it harder for others to seek information on the topics, the groups argue. It would also allow victims of child exploitation to "sidestep Section 230," a part of the law that protects platforms from being held accountable for content posted by third parties. The victims would be able to file civil lawsuits against the platform even if it was unaware it was hosting that content.
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Encrypted communication could also be affected, they argue. End-to-end encryption on platforms such as WhatsApp or Signal is often used to communicate private information. It's also a standard tool used to trade CSAM. Durbin's bill could make companies accountable for providing privately encrypted messages due to the likelihood that they were used to transmit private information, the groups argue. It could also be used by law enforcement to identify women seeking abortion from states where it is illegal and use the information to prosecute them, the coalition claims.
The Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously voted to move STOP CSAM to the floor in May. It's unclear if Schumer intends to move the bill to the floor for a vote soon.