Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) said at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday that Facebook has hired “an army of lawyers and lobbyists” to protect Mark Zuckerberg’s company from regulation. denounced.
Blackburn accused Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, of Meta’s perceived inability to curb online child sexual exploitation. vehemently criticized. The Tennessee senator has long hounded big tech platforms like Facebook, Snapchat and TikTok for not doing enough to protect children who use them from child predators.
“A lot of things are slipping through the cracks,” Blackburn told Zuckerberg that Facebook and Meta’s other platforms are trying to keep children safe online.
Blackburn took issue with Meta, which provides funding to protect many D.C.-based organizations from regulation.
“The problem is Sen. [Peter] “Welch, we’ve been working on this issue for 10 years, we’ve had an army of lawyers and lobbyists who have fought us every step of the way on this issue,” Blackburn charged.
US Senate Judiciary Committee
“You are working with NetChoice, the CATO Institute, the Taxpayer Protection Alliance, and the Chamber of Progress to really fight bipartisan legislation to keep kids safe online. Are you going to stop providing it? Are you going to stop lobbying against this and come to the table and work with us? Yes or no?”
“Of course, I will cooperate with the enactment of this bill,” Zuckerberg said.
Blackburn introduced the Eliminating the Abuse and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technology Act (EARN IT Act), which aims to combat online child sexual exploitation, and to prevent online child sexual abuse material (CSAM). removed blanket legal immunity for violations of the law. +
According to a press release from Blackburn’s office, the bill would:
- Let’s create a strong incentive for the tech industry to take online child sexual exploitation seriously. This bill would amend Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act to permanently remove blanket immunity from federal civil law, state criminal law, and state civil child sexual abuse material laws. Service providers will now be treated like everyone else, creating accountability when it comes to combating child sexual exploitation and eradicating CSAM.
- Establishes a National Commission on the Prevention of Online Child Sexual Exploitation charged with developing voluntary best practices. This committee is comprised equally of Congressional leadership, including the secretaries of the Department of Justice, DHS, and FTC, as well as representatives from law enforcement, survivor and victim advocacy groups, constitutional experts, technical experts, and industry. It is made up of 16 other appointed members.
- Remedies for survivors and tools for enforcement. This bill would strengthen enforcement of critical child sexual abuse statutes and provide civil lawsuits for victims.
“The door is open, the bills are all in, you all need to come to the table. [the big tech CEOs] You need a seat at the table and you need to work with us. Children are dying,” she said.
Sean Moran is a policy reporter at Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.
