PTC Supports EARN IT Act; Calls on Congress to Expand Protections for Children from Harmful Content on All Digital Platforms

LOS ANGELES (February 2, 2022) – The Parents Television and Media Council (PTC) offered support for the EARN IT Act of 2022, which would ensure that technology platforms protect children from child sexual abuse material, and called on Congress to expand protections for children from harmful content on all digital platforms.

“The PTC proudly endorses the EARN IT Act of 2022. We applaud the bipartisan and bicameral leadership of Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), U.S. Reps. Ann Wagner (R-MO) and Sylvia Garcia (D-TX), and over a dozen cosponsors from both sides of the political aisle, all of whom have come together with the noble goal of protecting children from the growing and ever-present threats that are so prevalent in today’s toxic digital media environment,” said PTC President Tim Winter.

“As Congress seeks to better protect children from harmful content online, we also call for Congress to reauthorize and pass an update to both the Family Movie Act of 2005 and Child Safe Viewing Act of 2008. Both of those laws contemplated technological remedies to protect children from potentially harmful media content. Both are outdated and in need of modernization, and both fully embrace the spirit and congressional intent of EARN IT.

“The PTC’s research has identified blatant examples of child sexual abuse material cropping up even in mainstream media outlets, particularly on streaming platforms. There is no more important matter than protecting our children from online content that can be unsafe and negatively impact them for the rest of their lives.

“We as a nation must find a way to reshape the dialogue that would pit our First Amendment protections, on the one hand, against preventing child sex abuse, on the other hand. This need not be a zero-sum equation. We can cherish both. And given the wide-ranging animus that has gripped America in recent years, nobody in their right mind can reasonably suggest that electronic media doesn’t impact the viewer. We call on both houses of Congress to swiftly adopt and approve legislative remedies to better protect children from harmful content on all digital media platforms,” said Winter.