
The anti-privacy EARN IT Act could change the internet as we know it - joeyespo
https://mashable.com/article/earn-it-act-threatens-privacy-encryption-section-230/
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LatteLazy
Here in the UK similar laws were referred to as a Snoopers Charter. This was
good PR against them as it was catchy and unattractive. Don't call these acts
by their "name" (which is just someone's bullshit acronym to make it sound
harmless). Call it "the tax on freedom" or "government in your bedroom" law.
That's how you get the 99% to decide they don't like it.

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JoeSmithson
What similarities do you see between EARN IT and IPA?

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yarrel
"...the newly amended version of the bill essentially gives state lawmakers
the ability to regulate the internet, according to Joe Mullin, a policy
analyst with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, who broke down the censorship
risks posed by the measure should it become law.

"All 50 states will be able to write new Internet rules that online platforms
and websites will have to follow,""

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theferalrobot
I’m 99% sure that that is already the case (and has been).

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Nasrudith
It is a matter of enforcibility. Alabama can try to ban say women with exposed
ankles and you as an operator of a website in California can tell the DA in a
notorized letter to go fuck themselves because they lack jurisdiction.

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shmerl
There should be a wider protest to sink this nonsense.

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smartbit
previous discussions
[https://hn.algolia.com/?query=%22earn%20it%20act%22](https://hn.algolia.com/?query=%22earn%20it%20act%22)

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lowmemcpu
Glad you posted this but...

This is one of those multi-day, multi-faceted topics that need us to have many
conversations until it's stopped.

Recall the SOPA & PIPA protests of last decade:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protests_against_SOPA_and_PIPA](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protests_against_SOPA_and_PIPA)

There were more than a few discussions here

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ericd
Requiring everyone to discuss this every few years seems like a surefire
strategy to exhaust people. It normalizes the idea, if nothing else.

So the question is how do we get it so that supporting ending effective
encryption is a political third rail that ends political careers? Because that
seems like the only way to get this to stop coming up until it eventually
passes.

Feinstein seems to be a perpetual supporter of this kind of thing. But she
keeps getting voted in by CA of all places.

The full list of PIPA supporters according to Wikipedia
([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Members_of_the_U.S._Co...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Members_of_the_U.S._Congress_who_support_or_oppose_SOPA/PIPA)):
Patrick Leahy (D-VT) Lamar Alexander (R-TN) Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) Richard
Blumenthal (D-CT) Barbara Boxer (D-CA) Sherrod Brown (D-OH) Bob Casey, Jr.
(D-PA) Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) Thad Cochran (R-MS) Chris Coons (D-DE) Bob
Corker (R-TN) Dick Durbin (D-IL) Mike Enzi (R-WY) Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) Al
Franken (D-MN) Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) Lindsey Graham (R-SC) Chuck Grassley
(R-IA) Withdrawn 1/18/12[11] Kay Hagan (D-NC) Johnny Isakson (R-GA) Tim
Johnson (D-SD) Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) Herb Kohl (D-WI) Mary Landrieu (D-LA)
Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) John McCain (R-AZ) Bob Menendez (D-NJ) Bill Nelson
(D-FL) Jim Risch (R-ID) Chuck Schumer (D-NY) Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) Tom Udall
(D-NM) Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)

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pmoriarty
_" Requiring everyone to discuss this every few years seems like a surefire
strategy to exhaust people"_

The older generation may get exhausted, but fortunately there's Eternal
September at play, where newer generations constantly arrive, start to become
politically aware, and have fresh energy.

In order to continue to effect change we need to continually educate and re-
educate people on what's going on and why.

 _" Feinstein seems to be a perpetual supporter of this kind of thing. But she
keeps getting voted in by CA of all places."_

Yeah, I really don't get California Democrats' unwavering support for
Feinstein.. but then again, they've elected quite a few Republican governors
as well, which I also don't understand.

On the other hand, contrary to popular belief, California is not an
overwhelmingly Democratic state... there are a fair number of Republicans in
office and even when Republicans lose they often manage to get 40% or more of
the vote... not the 0% or 10% that's probably in the popular imagination of
what California is like.

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salawat
This is the first time I've heard anyone mention Eternal September in a
positive sense.

Congratulations on finding the silver lining!

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joeblow9999
its a disaster in the making. it absolutely needs to be stopped

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StanislavPetrov
There are so many awful things about this bill that its hard to know where to
begin. What makes it especially ridiculous is that it does nothing to prevent
people with even basic technical knowledge from sending encrypted
communications. At the end of the day, encryption is simply math. You can't
outlaw math.

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jjcon
Just please go read the latest versions of the bill people

[https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-
bill/339...](https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-
bill/3398/text)

A ton of companies stand to lose by this bill so it may be wise to adopt some
skepticism towards all the doom and gloom.

This bill is ever evolving and they have been closing the gaps people were
worried about re encryption(and now there are complaints about new issues).
Are there holes that could be exploited, perhaps but a lot of them have been
closed. I know it isn’t popular to say it but this isn’t turning out to be
nearly as draconian as most people are making out to be.

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thephyber
If the bill still claims to be about "child online exploitation", that's
plenty reason to be skeptical. "Think of the children" is a powerful weapon
because it's easy for the sponsors to politically assassinate anyone who votes
against it. Source: I worked for a company that used that argument when
lobbying.

I know enough about myself to know I'm not qualified to represent myself in
court and I'm not qualified to read the text of a bill and pretend like I
understand it.

I trust the EFF[1] to represent my values.

[1] [https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/07/new-earn-it-bill-
still...](https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/07/new-earn-it-bill-still-
threatens-encryption-and-free-speech)

~~~
JoeSmithson
By this logic, no legislation can ever seek to reduce online child sexual
exploitation

~~~
thephyber
I'd prefer we stop _all_ sexual exploitation, not just online and not just of
children.

That said, all new legislation must weigh what is lost against what we
anticipate to gain.

