https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20200224/16174643974/barrs-motives-encryption-protecting-children-doj-230-workshop-review-part-iii.shtml

In Part I of this series on the Department of Justice’s February 19 workshop, “Section 230 — Nurturing Innovation or Fostering Unaccountability?” (archived video and agenda), we covered why Section 230 is important, how it works, and how panelists proposed to amend it. Part II explored Section 230’s intersection with criminal law.

Here, we ask what DOJ’s real objective with this workshop was. The answer to us seems clear: use Section 230 as a backdoor for banning encryption — a “backdoor to a backdoor” — in the name of stamping out child sexual abuse material (CSAM) while, conveniently, distracting attention from DOJ’s appalling failures to enforce existing laws against CSAM. We conclude by explaining how to get tough on CSAM to protect kids without amending Section 230 or banning encryption.