Vote Monday: Oppose Take It Down Act HR633/S146 as written, improve 1st amendment protection

The proposed legislation raises significant concerns about protecting free speech and privacy rights online. The notice and takedown mechanism is overly broad, lacks safeguards against abuse, unreasonably burdens platforms, and threatens privacy-preserving services. First, the broad definition of reportable content risks ensnaring not just abusive deepfakes, but also lawful sexual expression and educational materials. There need to be clear carve-outs for legitimate pornography, matters of public concern, and other protected speech. Second, the lack of penalties for frivolous or bad-faith reports incentivizes malicious actors to abuse the system for censorship. There must be anti-abuse provisions to deter attempts to remove lawful content. Third, the 48-hour takedown window is unrealistically short for verifying claims, forcing platforms to err on the side of censorship or rely on error-prone automated filters. More time is needed for human review to avoid suppressing legitimate speech. Fourth, the bill fails to exempt encrypted communications platforms, undermining digital privacy and security. These services should be clearly excluded from the notice and takedown requirements to protect user privacy. This legislation, while well-intentioned, risks doing more harm than good to online freedom of expression and privacy. Robust amendments are needed to protect lawful speech, provide deterrents against abuse, allow reasonable review timeframes, and preserve private digital spaces. The open internet's benefits for democracy, education, and human rights must be safeguarded. I urge you to address these significant concerns before advancing this bill further.