Security News > 2020 > March > US Lawmakers Propose Internet Controls to Fight Child Porn
US lawmakers proposed legislation Thursday that could see internet companies held legally responsible for content on their platforms if they don't do enough to police child pornography.
Senators from both parties, backed by the Department of Justice, said that existing laws immunizing internet hosts like social media companies from liability for user-posted content have allowed child pornography to proliferate.
"Everybody has an interest in fighting child abuse. The guys in this industry say we can do it, and we are going to do it by observing certain standards," Senator Richard Blumenthal, one of the bill's sponsors, told AFP. "The internet is infested with this criminal conduct, and the images, and photos, and video of it. That's our target."
"Technology has made it easier to produce, conceal, and distribute child sexual abuse materials," Attorney General Bill Barr said Thursday at an event announcing voluntary guidelines for internet companies.
Opponents however said that eliminating eroding automatic immunity to internet services hosts for one issue - child exploitation - could lead to further erosion on a wide array of issues.