A bill intended to hold Big Tech accountable for hosting child sexual abuse materials advanced to the Senate floor, giving it a new shot at passage and enactment.

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted on Thursday in favor of the Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies, or EARN IT, Act. The bill would amend Section 230, a key part of telecommunications law protecting websites from being sued for content posted by users, by stripping away the protections if the platforms violate federal and state laws related to child sexual abuse material. The bill's authors say the measure is a response to the mental health crisis threatening teenagers.

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"Congress has known about the dangers kids face online for years," Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-IL) tweeted on Thursday. "We've talked, held hearings, read coverage ... it's time to act. The Judiciary Committee took a first step today and sent the EARN IT Act to the full Senate."

The bill will now be considered on the floor for a vote, although it isn't clear if the bill has improved odds of passing. It has been considered in the upper chamber twice before, in 2020 and 2022, but failed to get a floor vote amid opposition from privacy advocates. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), a bill sponsor, said he was unconvinced it would pass, although his co-sponsors Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) projected more confidence about the bill's viability.

Representatives of the tech industry slammed the legislation as too broad and creating sweeping measures that could limit digital rights.

"When the EARN IT Act was previously reintroduced in 2022, I called it 'one of the most poorly conceived and dangerous pieces of Internet legislation I have seen in my entire career.' Well, it's back again, and assuming the bill text is the same, I stand by that statement," Fight for the Future Director Evan Greer said in a statement.

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Greer said the bill would force the removal of the online encryption of services such as WhatsApp, as well as force companies to create backdoors that could be used by law enforcement to access personal data.

A coalition of 133 gay and transgender and human rights organizations sent a letter to the Committee warning that the bill would "make it harder for law enforcement to protect children," lead to online censorship for marginalized groups, and threaten digital privacy.