If you are talking about how much Social Security says you can earn if you are under full retirement age, they shouldn't be counting Cancellation of Debt Income as earned income. But that's not handled by the IRS, that's handled by the SSA.
But if you are talking about how much tax you pay on your 1099-C, as MargaretL explained, 1/2 of your Social Security benefit is added to the rest of your income to compute how much of your Social Security is taxable, if any. That is handled by the IRS on your tax return, and is calculated the same whether your income is earned, like wages, or unearned, like Cancellation of Debt.
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