[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 125 (Thursday, July 20, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S3454]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      UNANIMOUS CONSENT OBJECTION

  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I am announcing my intention to object to 
any unanimous consent request to proceed to S. 1080, the Cooper Davis 
Act.
  There is no question that there is a fentanyl epidemic in the United 
States. However, this bill fails to offer serious solutions to this 
epidemic. Instead, it would mandate that platforms scan their users' 
communications for anything that could be interpreted as being about 
selling or using drugs. Given this country's experience with the failed 
``War on Drugs'' it is easy to predict that communities of color will 
disproportionately have their conversations surveilled and referred for 
prosecutions, which is why it is opposed by civil rights groups, 
including the ACLU, NAACP and Leadership Conference on Civil and Human 
Rights. Further, forcing a platform to decide what represents a drug 
transaction means that lots of innocent people will be referred for 
investigation and prosecution. Finally, the reporting structure of this 
legislation is likely to produce large numbers of meritless referrals 
to the Drug Enforcement Administration and do little to address the 
real causes of the fentanyl epidemic or protect vulnerable communities.
  Given these concerns, I will object to any unanimous consent request 
in relation to this legislation.

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