Untitled Document

[00:23:59] okay i'll wait out real quick [00:24:26] hey everybody [00:24:29] okay you ready [00:24:33] all right well thank you i'm senator [00:24:35] graham from south carolina that's our [00:24:36] state flag somewhere in the back i want [00:24:38] to thank my good friend senator [00:24:40] blumenthal for working with me we've [00:24:43] been on this journey for quite a while [00:24:45] to pass the earn it act now what is the [00:24:47] earn it act [00:24:50] it's a it's a idea that's long overdue [00:24:53] behind me we have groups of people who [00:24:56] have been advocating [00:24:58] on behalf of children [00:25:00] and people who have been sexually [00:25:02] exploited [00:25:04] in their life [00:25:05] to have that experience relived millions [00:25:08] of times on the internet [00:25:10] the stories that you told us got us to [00:25:12] where we're at so under the current law [00:25:16] regarding social media outlets section [00:25:19] 230 prevents claims being made [00:25:22] against the social media giants [00:25:25] no matter the subject matter basically [00:25:28] so what have we learned [00:25:31] from this journey [00:25:33] that every day there are millions of [00:25:35] images of children and others [00:25:38] who have been sexually abused in the [00:25:40] most vile way [00:25:42] plastered all over the internet [00:25:45] and those people in charge of these [00:25:47] outlets [00:25:49] are not doing enough [00:25:51] to stop it [00:25:53] and we have uh examples of where some [00:25:56] social media outlets were told about [00:25:59] the situation [00:26:01] and did nothing about it [00:26:03] so this legislation [00:26:06] will exempt from section 230 [00:26:09] federal law that makes it a crime to [00:26:12] knowingly [00:26:14] exploit [00:26:15] images of sexual abuse of minors [00:26:19] so the game is going to change if this [00:26:21] bill ever becomes law [00:26:23] now social media companies are going to [00:26:25] have to be more responsible [00:26:28] because if they don't act [00:26:31] after knowingly understanding the nature [00:26:33] of the problem they're subject to civil [00:26:35] and criminal liability [00:26:38] this is narrow and focused [00:26:42] but broad in scope in this regard [00:26:46] hundreds of millions of images [00:26:49] over the arc of time [00:26:51] have lived on the internet [00:26:54] in a fashion that the abused person [00:26:58] can never get away from the abuse [00:27:01] their abuse is being shared [00:27:04] with millions of people in the most [00:27:06] disgusting way [00:27:08] and the earned act is designed to tell [00:27:11] the people who own these platforms [00:27:14] up your game [00:27:16] or else [00:27:18] the groups that we have today are tina [00:27:22] front founder and director of courtney's [00:27:24] house [00:27:26] don hawkins ceo of national center on [00:27:28] sexual exploitation [00:27:30] uh [00:27:31] jana soros [00:27:33] national center for missing and [00:27:35] exploited children kamela cooper [00:27:37] vice pres president rape abuse and [00:27:40] incest national network [00:27:43] samantha [00:27:44] cadet rape abuse incest national network [00:27:48] kathy [00:27:49] haydem [00:27:51] enough is enough [00:27:53] they're all here they will be speaking [00:27:56] but now i'm going to turn it over to my [00:27:58] democratic colleague [00:28:00] who has been indispensable if this bill [00:28:03] ever becomes law [00:28:05] it will be because senator blumenthal's [00:28:08] tenacious advocacy [00:28:10] thank you [00:28:11] uh let me thank uh first of all my [00:28:14] partner in this effort uh [00:28:16] senator graham who really has been [00:28:18] indispensable [00:28:21] under [00:28:23] this administration and previous [00:28:25] administration this [00:28:26] cause has nothing to do with [00:28:28] red or blue states [00:28:32] it is completely bipartisan we have [00:28:35] 22 [00:28:37] co-sponsors [00:28:39] for this bill [00:28:41] and today [00:28:42] it passed [00:28:45] unanimously [00:28:46] from the senate judiciary committee that [00:28:48] is due to your great work [00:28:52] and i want to thank [00:28:54] the survivors who have so courageously [00:28:56] lent their face and voice to this effort [00:28:59] the advocates [00:29:02] the national center for missing [00:29:04] exploited children [00:29:07] reported [00:29:09] [Music] [00:29:10] 29.3 million [00:29:14] victims [00:29:16] 29.3 [00:29:17] instances [00:29:18] of child [00:29:21] abuse on the internet think of the most [00:29:26] unspeakable [00:29:28] painful [00:29:29] thing that could happen to you and then [00:29:33] multiply the pain thousands of times [00:29:36] as [00:29:37] the internet [00:29:39] sends it to [00:29:40] millions of [00:29:42] sadistic viewers [00:29:45] who then [00:29:47] keep it on the internet [00:29:49] for all of your life [00:29:51] it's there [00:29:52] forever and [00:29:54] the internet [00:29:56] big tech companies [00:29:57] have failed to act in fact sometimes [00:30:00] they've [00:30:01] simply told [00:30:03] the victims and survivors to go [00:30:07] after this [00:30:10] abuse has been reported [00:30:12] know it [00:30:14] and i want to just emphasize knowing [00:30:16] the harm [00:30:18] and pain that it causes every day every [00:30:21] minute of every day [00:30:23] to those [00:30:25] survivors and their families and their [00:30:28] friends [00:30:30] child abuse [00:30:31] leaves a lasting [00:30:34] impact [00:30:35] on children wholly apart from [00:30:37] seeing it on the internet [00:30:39] displayed day after day and we ought to [00:30:42] be providing more treatment [00:30:44] frankly more resources and money to the [00:30:46] law enforcers to the police the district [00:30:49] attorneys the prosecutors they need more [00:30:51] resources they need more support [00:30:55] but they also need this statute they [00:30:58] need this accountability from big tech [00:31:02] now i just want to say [00:31:04] big tech has thrown up a lot of myths [00:31:07] and misinformation [00:31:10] this measure is not about encryption [00:31:13] and it's not about free speech rape is [00:31:16] not free speech [00:31:18] child abuse is not free expression it is [00:31:22] criminal [00:31:24] and [00:31:25] the game has to change [00:31:28] when this bill becomes law with the help [00:31:31] of these incredible advocates and law [00:31:35] enforcers [00:31:37] the game will change [00:31:39] and i will just say finally [00:31:42] you know uh [00:31:44] we we have as well represented here [00:31:46] today the national district attorney's [00:31:48] association [00:31:50] the major cities chiefs association [00:31:53] the match group columbus school of law [00:31:58] this measure is supported by the sex [00:32:00] crimes prosecutors [00:32:02] the law enforcers on the streets the [00:32:05] police who have to deal with the faces [00:32:08] and voices firsthand [00:32:11] they need our support as well [00:32:14] and i hope as we move forward we will [00:32:17] meet some of the reservations that were [00:32:19] raised today in the committee i think we [00:32:22] can answer those questions [00:32:24] and [00:32:26] the the people who are here today the [00:32:28] advocates and others they deserve action [00:32:32] not just our words and rhetoric they [00:32:35] deserve action the american people [00:32:36] deserve action and let me now introduce [00:32:39] tina front [00:32:41] uh the founder and director of [00:32:43] courtney's house [00:32:45] thank you [00:32:46] thank you [00:32:48] thank you senator graham [00:32:50] thank you senator bloomfield for [00:32:53] listening to survivors my name is cena [00:32:56] fruit and i'm the executive director and [00:32:58] founder of courtney's house who's the [00:33:00] only survivor-run african-american run [00:33:02] in d.c area [00:33:05] this [00:33:06] is a big moment for our youth survivors [00:33:09] at courtney's house [00:33:10] and i say that because for the last [00:33:12] couple of years that we've been meeting [00:33:15] with nicosie and instagram [00:33:18] on what is happening right now to our [00:33:21] youth [00:33:22] it shouldn't be ever put on a child to [00:33:24] request that their videos and photos be [00:33:27] taken off [00:33:28] someone who is traumatized and cannot [00:33:31] follow up on it [00:33:34] i'm glad that it's heard today but for [00:33:36] twitter [00:33:37] and for reddit [00:33:39] and for instagram on reddit right now [00:33:41] you can actually go to the locals so you [00:33:44] can go to dc and you can see children [00:33:46] right now for men who bought sex from [00:33:48] these children putting their age [00:33:51] putting how much they bought for them [00:33:53] and where they live in the city imagine [00:33:55] going to school and seeing these people [00:33:57] and they're confronting you and asking [00:34:00] your price in person that they saw [00:34:02] online see that's what's really going on [00:34:05] and the tech world isn't understanding [00:34:07] the reality of what people see online [00:34:10] they they see that on public and they're [00:34:12] approaching these children not as [00:34:14] children [00:34:15] but as people they want to buy sex from [00:34:17] that's online using those platforms [00:34:20] we cannot ignore that anymore and this [00:34:23] bill [00:34:24] will not allow that to ignore anymore i [00:34:27] thank you all so much for passing this [00:34:31] but this is one step of many more to [00:34:33] come thank you [00:34:35] that's great miss hawkins [00:34:39] thank you and tina you're the youth and [00:34:41] your um counselor why the national [00:34:43] center on sexual exploitation has [00:34:46] advocated so hard for the earned act and [00:34:48] for accountability for tech yesterday a [00:34:51] district court ruled in our lawsuit [00:34:53] against pornhub that it is not immune [00:34:56] under cda 230 for hosting csam this case [00:34:59] is a huge victory however in august in a [00:35:03] case that nikosi is involved with [00:35:05] against twitter for hosting csam a judge [00:35:08] ruled the opposite that cda230 gives the [00:35:11] company immunity [00:35:13] csam victims who made similar claims [00:35:15] against kik reddit omegle have had their [00:35:19] cases dismissed on similar 230 grounds [00:35:22] congress must clarify its intent we need [00:35:25] earn it act so that survivors of these [00:35:27] horrific crimes know where they stand [00:35:29] and the courts have a clear [00:35:30] understanding of congressional intent [00:35:32] namely that section 230 does not [00:35:35] immunize knowing possession and [00:35:37] distribution of csam thank you great [00:35:39] thank you [00:35:40] um [00:35:42] thesaurus soros [00:35:46] yes thank you senator [00:35:49] on behalf of the national center for [00:35:50] missing and exploited children i want to [00:35:52] thank senator graham and senator [00:35:53] blumenthal the co-sponsors and the [00:35:56] senate judiciary committee for all of [00:35:57] their tremendous work on the earn it act [00:36:00] nickvik is proud to support this bill [00:36:02] which is quite simply the most [00:36:04] comprehensive child protection bill [00:36:06] introduced in congress in years [00:36:08] the number of reports as you heard from [00:36:10] senator blumenthal continues to increase [00:36:13] at a distressing level [00:36:15] currently at the national center we're [00:36:16] receiving an average of 80 000 reports a [00:36:20] day relating to child sexual [00:36:22] exploitation [00:36:23] the earned act will provide [00:36:24] collaborative best practices and [00:36:27] improved reporting recommend [00:36:29] recommendations to benefit online [00:36:31] platforms nick mc and other non-profits [00:36:34] and law enforcement as they work [00:36:36] together to combat online child sexual [00:36:38] exploitation but most importantly this [00:36:41] is a bill focused on the survivors it [00:36:44] enables survivor participation and [00:36:46] setting best practices [00:36:48] provides survivors with their day in [00:36:50] court against everyone who knowingly [00:36:53] participates in distributing their [00:36:55] images online and it will finally catch [00:36:57] the united states up to the rest of the [00:36:59] world by calling this abuse what it is [00:37:02] not child pornography but child sexual [00:37:05] abuse material [00:37:06] thank you thank you thank you [00:37:09] miss cooper [00:37:12] good afternoon my name is camille cooper [00:37:15] and i am the vice president of public [00:37:16] policy for rain rain created and [00:37:19] operates the national sexual assault [00:37:21] hotline [00:37:22] we serve over twenty seven thousand [00:37:24] people a month and half of the people [00:37:26] accessing our online hotline are minors [00:37:30] i am here today with two members of our [00:37:32] policy team samantha cadet and daphne [00:37:34] pellegrino and they have both worked [00:37:37] very hard on this bill [00:37:39] first and foremost i want to thank [00:37:41] senator blumenthal and senator graham [00:37:43] for their leadership and their [00:37:45] relentless commitment to protecting [00:37:47] children from exploitation and abuse the [00:37:50] earned act is critically important for [00:37:52] children [00:37:53] millions of images depicting the abuse [00:37:56] of children are distributed across the [00:37:58] internet every week [00:38:01] these are not images of simple nudity [00:38:05] according to interpol [00:38:07] 84 [00:38:09] of these images [00:38:10] depict actual sexual abuse [00:38:15] 47 [00:38:17] of these images [00:38:19] depict sadistic abuse [00:38:22] including bondage and torture [00:38:26] children are seen in these images [00:38:29] crying for daddy to stop some of them [00:38:32] are kept in dog cages [00:38:36] most of these children are under the age [00:38:39] of 12. [00:38:41] many of these children are infants [00:38:44] and toddlers [00:38:46] infants [00:38:48] and toddlers [00:38:50] these images are crime scene recordings [00:38:53] and the demand for these images can only [00:38:56] be met one way and that is with the [00:38:58] abuse of more children [00:39:01] technology companies allow these images [00:39:03] to be distributed over and over and over [00:39:07] again [00:39:08] across their networks [00:39:10] why [00:39:11] because they have absolutely zero [00:39:14] incentive to stop it [00:39:17] my colleague samantha cadet is going to [00:39:19] read a statement from one of these [00:39:21] survivors [00:39:22] her name is amy [00:39:24] this is a pseudonym for her [00:39:26] amy cannot be here in person out of fear [00:39:29] that someone would search for her images [00:39:32] which continue to be distributed across [00:39:35] the globe [00:39:36] sam [00:39:41] my name is samantha cadet [00:39:43] and i am reading this victim impact [00:39:45] statement on behalf of amy [00:39:47] who is represented by the marsh law firm [00:39:52] you may already know me as amy of the [00:39:54] amy vicki and andy act [00:39:57] because my csam is treated online [00:39:59] like baseball cards for pedophiles [00:40:02] i'm a victim of csam [00:40:04] and the marsh law firm helps me navigate [00:40:07] this never-ending crime [00:40:09] against my childhood self [00:40:11] we shouldn't need accountability in tech [00:40:14] but these companies have lost all [00:40:15] humanity [00:40:16] and refused to use technology that has [00:40:19] existed for years to stop my [00:40:21] exploitation [00:40:23] survivors of csam struggle in the midst [00:40:26] of healing and cannot always speak up [00:40:28] as often as we would like [00:40:31] because we avoid unwanted attention [00:40:34] but i refuse to be silent [00:40:36] we shouldn't have to force companies to [00:40:38] do the right thing [00:40:40] but they pretend to care [00:40:41] then use cda230 to shut the courtroom [00:40:45] doors on us [00:40:47] the earning act of 2022 will help stop [00:40:50] this endless invasion of my privacy [00:40:53] that will otherwise continue for the [00:40:55] rest of my life [00:40:57] even long after i'm gone [00:40:59] i never saw a solution before [00:41:01] if the earner act passes then maybe the [00:41:04] images of my childhood suffering will be [00:41:07] offline by the time my own kids grow up [00:41:10] thank you thank you [00:41:16] hello i'm kathy hattan excuse me [00:41:19] hi i'm kathy hattam the director of [00:41:21] communications for enough is enough [00:41:24] whose mission since 1994 has been to [00:41:27] make the internet safer for children and [00:41:29] families [00:41:30] on behalf of eie and its president donna [00:41:33] rice hughes who would be here today if [00:41:35] she were in town [00:41:37] we'd like to thank senator graham [00:41:39] senator blumenthal and all the [00:41:41] co-sponsors of the earn it act [00:41:44] no child is immune from online sexual [00:41:47] exploitation [00:41:48] they deserve this timely legislation to [00:41:51] defend their ignis their innocence and [00:41:54] their dignity [00:41:56] citing from donna's editorial this week [00:41:59] there needs to be a paradigm shift [00:42:02] regarding big tech's response to child [00:42:05] online sexual exploitation [00:42:08] the earn it act dismantles big tech's [00:42:12] unearned immunity for csam [00:42:15] one bite at a time [00:42:18] immunity must be earned through [00:42:20] accountability [00:42:21] we urge all members of the senate and [00:42:24] the house to stand shoulder to shoulder [00:42:27] and support the earned act for the sake [00:42:29] of the children thank you thank you [00:42:32] thank you wonderful [00:42:35] questions [00:42:39] i have a [00:42:43] the substantive question is does the [00:42:44] bill only apply to big tech companies [00:42:47] and do you feel that big tech has a [00:42:49] special responsibility in this arena and [00:42:51] the second question is what's the path [00:42:53] to this [00:42:54] bill to get to the center for do you see [00:42:56] it being packaged [00:43:00] uh the bill applies to all tech [00:43:02] companies [00:43:03] and by the way some tech companies are [00:43:05] consistent and vigorous partners in this [00:43:08] effort we're not condemning [00:43:10] all tech [00:43:11] some want to do the right thing [00:43:13] and there are simple [00:43:16] easily accessible sometimes free ways [00:43:20] for the tech companies [00:43:21] to [00:43:22] automatically using automation either [00:43:26] software or the cloud to do [00:43:29] the kind of detection and prevention [00:43:32] that is necessary so [00:43:34] we're not attacking tech [00:43:36] we're attacking [00:43:37] only the lack of accountability [00:43:41] and [00:43:41] carving out a narrow exception [00:43:44] to knowingly [00:43:46] spread this [00:43:49] stuff [00:43:50] i'll be polite [00:43:53] on the [00:43:54] internet [00:43:55] and [00:43:57] on the political question i want to see [00:43:59] this bill [00:44:01] as a standalone [00:44:02] on the floor of the united states senate [00:44:05] rather than combining it with antitrust [00:44:08] or a lot of other bills that i am [00:44:10] personally leading [00:44:12] and supporting [00:44:14] i would like to see this bill go to the [00:44:17] floor [00:44:18] and our colleagues unanimously on the [00:44:21] floor of the senate just as we did in [00:44:22] the judiciary committee approve it as a [00:44:24] stand-alone [00:44:26] independent measure you know [00:44:29] child abuse [00:44:30] is different from other crimes [00:44:34] it [00:44:35] is [00:44:36] impactful on people [00:44:39] on their physical well-being it rewires [00:44:42] the brain [00:44:44] the studies show that child abuse [00:44:48] cripples a person for a lifetime [00:44:51] in the absence of some kind of help [00:44:54] and here far from help we're seeing [00:44:57] aggravation forcing [00:45:00] a child to relive that trauma [00:45:03] year after year reliving the trauma as [00:45:06] an adult [00:45:07] and so i want to see this child sexual [00:45:10] abuse material [00:45:12] taken down [00:45:14] and [00:45:14] the enablers [00:45:16] held accountable [00:45:17] in a separate bill on the floor of the [00:45:19] united states senate [00:45:29] have we [00:45:30] i think we're seeing support on both [00:45:32] sides of the option [00:45:34] for this bill i think there is strong [00:45:36] support i hope there will be from our [00:45:38] leadership [00:45:39] i have every reason to believe from what [00:45:41] senator durbin said today [00:45:43] as chairman of the judiciary committee [00:45:45] that he's going to be solidly behind it [00:45:46] i want to see this bill with the support [00:45:48] of leadership [00:45:50] considered as soon as possible [00:45:52] because time is not on our side [00:45:54] there's an urgency here there's a moral [00:45:56] imperative [00:45:57] as well as [00:45:59] a need to change the law [00:46:01] let me just reinforce what he said this [00:46:03] is going to pass [00:46:06] right [00:46:08] i'd hate to be the guy or the gal in [00:46:10] front of this train [00:46:12] because you're going to get run over why [00:46:14] the problem is real [00:46:17] this [00:46:18] if this doesn't bring us together [00:46:20] nothing will [00:46:22] and it has [00:46:23] i don't know if any of your republicans [00:46:25] i could care less [00:46:27] dig and i don't agree on a lot of things [00:46:30] but this we do agree on he was a u.s [00:46:31] attorney right [00:46:33] attorney general the attorney attorney [00:46:35] general i was a prosecutor in the [00:46:36] military did a lot of child abuse cases [00:46:39] sexual abuse with children [00:46:41] once you're in this space and you know [00:46:43] what goes on you can't look away [00:46:46] and too many people look away [00:46:49] the internet has enriched our lives but [00:46:51] there's a dark side to the internet [00:46:54] and the people in the internet business [00:46:58] are going to have to up their game [00:47:02] without your services [00:47:04] this problem would be less [00:47:06] not more [00:47:08] by using these images over and over [00:47:11] again [00:47:12] you feed the beast [00:47:15] and making abuse more likely [00:47:18] the the victims [00:47:20] take it to their grave because the abuse [00:47:22] never goes away [00:47:24] so we're on a crusade here [00:47:28] to police the dark side of the internet [00:47:32] and section 230 is routinely used to [00:47:35] dismiss lawsuits of victims [00:47:38] who suffer [00:47:39] day in and day out and what kind of [00:47:41] crime is this it destroys you [00:47:44] it destroys who you are [00:47:46] it keeps you from developing who you [00:47:49] could be [00:47:50] and the people who do this [00:47:54] uh need to pay a price [00:47:56] god will be the ultimate judge of all of [00:47:59] us [00:48:00] but between now and that day dick and i [00:48:02] are going to do what i can [00:48:04] to make sure that the district attorneys [00:48:06] behind me and the cops can take these [00:48:08] creeps [00:48:10] into court [00:48:11] into the american business community in [00:48:14] the in this space [00:48:16] this is good business for you to help us [00:48:20] the public will appreciate your help [00:48:22] but we're going to start naming names [00:48:26] and if you're on the good list [00:48:29] we'll say so if you're on the bad list [00:48:32] we're going to say that too [00:48:34] so to the tech companies who spend all [00:48:36] your time trying to kill this bill [00:48:40] how about helping us pass the bill in a [00:48:42] way that's reasonable we're very [00:48:44] concerned that we do this [00:48:46] right but they're spending all their [00:48:49] time telling us what we can't do [00:48:53] so here's my response [00:48:56] those days are over [00:48:58] you better get your ass up here and work [00:49:00] with us [00:49:03] i can't i can't uh [00:49:06] do better than that that's for sure [00:49:09] but just one final uh point to your [00:49:12] question [00:49:13] uh it is about big tech because they [00:49:15] have the resources [00:49:16] to deal with this problem [00:49:18] you know they they are [00:49:21] resourced to the guilds [00:49:23] they have more than enough money [00:49:26] to do the screening [00:49:28] that is necessary for [00:49:30] for more than a decade [00:49:33] i have said to big tech [00:49:35] whether it's myspace or craigslist and [00:49:38] now amazon and reddit and twitter we're [00:49:40] going to name names [00:49:43] you have the resources they've always [00:49:45] said oh [00:49:48] can't do it [00:49:49] technology won't permit it and then [00:49:52] they found a way to do it [00:49:55] they know how to do it and they have the [00:49:57] money to do it right and accountability [00:50:00] is important so that these folks have a [00:50:03] day in court a fair [00:50:05] day to confront [00:50:07] the enablers the aiders and the bettors [00:50:11] the [00:50:12] big tech and small tech companies that [00:50:14] are complicit knowing what they're doing [00:50:16] and [00:50:17] profiting from it [00:50:19] they are profiting from [00:50:22] the deep misery [00:50:24] of these [00:50:25] victims and survivors that is what is [00:50:28] most [00:50:30] outrageous here and now just just close [00:50:33] out there they've hired every law firm [00:50:35] in town every lobbying group [00:50:38] to tie us up maybe dick and i we've got [00:50:40] great staff to you know [00:50:42] cat and everybody on our staff thank you [00:50:44] but they're just a handful of us [00:50:46] our powers these folks [00:50:48] how about this how about big tech coming [00:50:50] up here listening to these stories like [00:50:53] we have working with dick and i to pass [00:50:55] a bill [00:50:57] why don't you do that why don't you take [00:50:58] all the effort and energy and money you [00:51:01] have to fix a problem that would make [00:51:03] america a better place it's within your [00:51:05] power to fix this problem [00:51:07] this law is necessary because you made [00:51:09] it necessary [00:51:12] we're here because of you [00:51:14] we're here because the way you're doing [00:51:15] business [00:51:16] you got one last chance to change if i [00:51:19] were you i would change [00:51:21] thank you [00:51:24] thank you all [00:51:25] thank you [00:51:49] you