URGENT: The Senate Judiciary Committee just voted to advance the EARN IT Act, dangerous legislation that threatens to lead to widespread Internet censorship and surveillance. [1]
This bill is now heading for a vote on the Senate floor. We’re launching an emergency crowdfunding campaign to raise the funds we need to stop it. Will you chip in?
DONATE
John,
The EARN IT Act, proposed by Senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal, would give the Department of Justice and attorney general Bill Barr unprecedented power over the Internet. It would create 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 they’d risk getting shut down.
This misguided legislation is reminiscent of deeply problematic bills like SOPA/PIPA and SESTA/FOSTA. The sponsors claim it’s about protecting children, but experts say it won’t do that at all, and instead will open the floodgates for Internet censorship and undermine encryption technology that keeps us all safe.
The EARN IT act is picking up steam in the Senate, but we still have a chance. Will you chip in to support our urgent campaign to stop this bill?
We’ve driven more than 500,000 emails and more than 9,000 phone calls to key Senators in the last week alone. And it’s already having an impact. Senators are getting nervous about supporting the EARN IT Act.
But the Senate Judiciary Committee tried to sidestep the growing opposition by introducing amendments that claims to address the concerns, but utterly fail to do so. A sneaky bill just got even sneakier. [2]
If we don’t double our efforts to stop the EARN IT act right now, this legislation will pass and it could change the Internet forever. But we urgently need to raise funds to cover costs like driving phone calls, coalition building, and sounding the alarm on social media.
Please chip in whatever you can afford right now to help stop the EARN IT act and defend human rights and Internet privacy.
Thanks for all you do,
-Evan at Fight for the Future
[1] CNET:
https://twitter.com/alfredwkng/status/1278703525552406528
[2] Center for Democracy and Technology:
https://cdt.org/insights/amendments-to-earn-it-act-cant-fix-the-bills-fundamental-flaws/
Fight for the Future works to protect your rights in the digital age.
