Wyden Objects to Bill That Would Threaten Encryption, Calls for New Resources to Crack Down on Predators Online
As prepared for delivery
I don’t often disagree with my colleague from Illinois, and I very much share the stated goals of the STOP CSAM Act. Child sexual abuse material is a toxic plague on the internet. There are real victims who need support, and criminals who need to be hunted down and locked up. I don’t take a backseat to anyone when it comes to helping kids and punishing predators.
Last Congress, Senator Durbin and I compromised on a different version of this bill and agreed to let that version pass by unanimous consent. Let me say that again, last Congress we reached agreement on a version of this bill that could have passed unanimously. Today, the sponsors have chosen to abandon those negotiations and instead seek to advance a dangerous bill that would make internet users unsafe.
This bill would weaken the single strongest technology protecting children and families online - strong encryption. It will make it easier to punish sites that use encryption to secure private conversations and personal devices. While STOP CSAM’s sponsors claim that their bill does not target encryption, the bill explicitly allows courts to punish companies that offer strong encryption. It also would encourage scanning of content on users’ phones or computers, before information is sent over the internet, which has the same consequences as breaking encryption.
Weakening encryption and other security technologies is the single biggest gift you could give to the predators and creeps who want to stalk and spy on children. Sexual predators will have a far easier time stealing and extorting photographs of children, tracking their phones and spying on their private messages once encryption is breached. Doing so threatens the privacy and security of every single law-abiding American.
Let’s look at who supports this bill. Big Tech - Google and X - have endorsed it. It’s the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and the American Civil Liberties Union who oppose it.
This is really about who you’re for. I’m here for women who depend on encryption to seek reproductive healthcare information. I’m here for journalists reporting on sensitive stories in places where their messages could be intercepted and used against them. I’m here for children and teenagers seeking information about immigration laws as Trump continues his brutal crackdown.
The key to better protecting kids online is to do what IS effective, not what only SOUNDS effective.
Congress should focus our energy on giving law enforcement officials the tools they need to find and prosecute criminals responsible for exploiting children and spreading vile abuse materials online, and to help prevent children from becoming victims in the first place.
I remain open to revisiting conversations with this bill’s sponsors to get back to a version that doesn’t make the Internet less safe. We found a compromise in the last Congress, and I’m ready to find one again.
I also urge members to support my bipartisan Invest in Child Safety Act, which I will shortly be reintroducing. The bill would direct $5 billion in mandatory funding to do three things:
1. Give law enforcement agencies the tools and personnel they need to catch the predators who are creating and spreading CSAM;
2. Fund community based programs to prevent at-risk kids from becoming victims in the first place and
3. Invest in programs to support survivors of abuse.
Any legislation that doesn’t include these pieces is missing the point.
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