PRESS

LET’S END CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 

February 2, 2024

For more information: Marci Hamilton, 215-353-8984

CHILD USA AND CHILD USAdvocacy WITHDRAW SUPPORT FOR the STOP CSAM ACT AFTER RECENT AMENDMENTS

Following the grilling of the Tech Giants by Senators this week, CHILD USA endorsed three bills to push back against their abject failures to protect children: The Stop CSAM Act of 2023, the EARN IT Act, and KOSA.  We stand by the latter two, but new information leads us to now denounce the STOP CSAM ACT of 2023.

Before getting into the details, we want to make this absolutely clear:  Big Tech has endangered our children for profit, and it is irrational to think they can be trusted to become protective of children.  The ONLY people who can create a safety net for children from online harm are members of Congress.  Lawmakers harshly questioned Tech’s representatives like Mark Zuckerbeg on Wednesday, but they must pass the EARN IT Act and KOSA to actually make children safer.

While the Stop CSAM Act has some good elements, Sec. 2255A was amended on January 16 to include a poison pill that was clearly drafted by Big Tech’s lobbyists: to bring a lawsuit for the harm done, the victim must prove the online service provider acted intentionally.  That is a virtually impossible standard for the victims to meet.  

The Stop CSAM Act may look good but don’t be fooled—with Sec. 2255A it is a gift to Mark Zuckerberg and all the rest so they can continue to make money while shutting the many victims they have created out of court.  It should be called the Immunize Big Tech Act.  

James Marsh, Chair of the CHILD USA Board of Directors is the leading expert on these issues and has written a blog in which he says that the so-called Stop CSAM Act is the worst bill for crime victims in 30 years: “Congress says it wants a reckoning with big tech—the new traffickers and criminals exploiting our children. Sadly, Stop CSAM doesn’t make things better, it makes things worse.  Imagine a world where, in order to hold the Catholic Church accountable, the bishop would need to know that a child was being raped and that he had 48 hours to stop the rape which was occurring. If the bishop did not know about each individual occurrence of child rape, the Church could not be held responsible.”

Marci Hamilton, Founder and CEO of CHILD USA, states, “Any lawmaker that chooses to move on the Stop CSAM Act is choosing to endanger even more children in the online space and to let big tech continue to obscenely profit from children’s deaths.  How tragic it would be after the tough talk at the hearing for lawmakers to now serve big tech’s interests and codify no justice for the victims and their families.”

CHILD USA and CHILD USAdvocacy urge lawmakers to take a child-centered approach to this horrific 21st-century problem.  Pass the EARN IT Act and KOSA.  

Despite its name, Senators supporting the Stop CSAM Act with Sec. 2255A is a gift to Big Tech and a guarantee more kids and families will suffer.

 

 

###