CHICAGO, Feb. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — KIDS TOO, commonly known as the Me Too movement for kids, with a mission of protecting children from sex abusers and online predators, announced today that they are joining forces with other child advocacy organizations to demand that Legislators pass The Earn It Act (Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies Act). This legislation, sponsored by Senators Richard Blumenthal and Lindsey Graham, is designed to hold Big Tech companies liable for facilitating or profiting from child sexual abuse material (CSAM) being distributed on their platforms.
The circulation of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) online is pervasive on well-known platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok and Instagram. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated this problem. In the U.S., the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children issued a report that 2020 was a record-breaking year, with more than 21.7 million reports of suspected child sexual exploitation made to their CyberTipline.
Regrettably, Big Tech has turned a blind eye to this criminality. These companies are protected under current law and not required to report CSAM activities. This leaves minor-survivors and their parents with no legal recourse. According to Tania Haigh, founder of the KIDS TOO Movement and co-founder of Parents Against Child Sex Abuse (P.A.X.A.), "We are ringing alarm bells to protect children, both in online and offline environments. For the last two decades, the onus of child safety has been put solely on parents by social media platforms. We can’t do it alone. The Earn It Act is one measure that is designed to get these billion-dollar tech companies to start helping parents and stop protecting predators."
The Earn Act includes the following:
It creates accountability with the CDA Section 230 being amended to carve out federal and state CSAM laws.
Survivors and parents of exploited children will be able to hold tech companies accountable for the distribution of child sexual abuse material.
It establishes a new National Commission on Online Child Sexual Exploitation Prevention
Technology changes so rapidly, so this commission will work to ensure that as tech evolves that it will still have child protection safety measures in place.
It updates Federal Statutes with the language "child sexual abuse material" replacing "child pornography."
This strengthens the CyberTipline and allows companies to take further steps to improve detection and response to CSAM.
To learn more and join the movement and to sign the KIDS TOO petition, please visit KIDSTOO.ORG.
About The KIDS TOO Movement
KIDS TOO, driven by Parents Against Child Sex Abuse (P.A.X.A.), is a movement about child protection, not just sexual abuse, from all online and offline exploitation. KIDS TOO serves as a catalyst to galvanize parents to speak up and demand that Big Tech do more to protect children.
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SOURCE KIDS TOO
