{"id":22606,"date":"2024-04-09T22:32:08","date_gmt":"2024-04-09T22:32:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/09\/canada-wants-to-regulate-online-content-critics-say-it-goes-too-far\/"},"modified":"2024-04-09T22:32:08","modified_gmt":"2024-04-09T22:32:08","slug":"canada-wants-to-regulate-online-content-critics-say-it-goes-too-far","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/09\/canada-wants-to-regulate-online-content-critics-say-it-goes-too-far\/","title":{"rendered":"Canada Wants to Regulate Online Content. Critics Say It Goes Too Far."},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"550\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/04\/08\/multimedia\/00canada-online-harms-01-qmpj\/00canada-online-harms-01-qmpj-facebookJumbo.jpg?fit=1050,550&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Canada Wants to Regulate Online Content. Critics Say It Goes Too Far.\" title=\"Canada Wants to Regulate Online Content. Critics Say It Goes Too Far.\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Canada has waded into the contentious issue of regulating online content with a sweeping proposal that would force technology companies to restrict and remove harmful material, especially posts involving children, that appears on their platforms.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">While the intent to better monitor online content has drawn widespread support, the bill has faced intense backlash over its attempt to regulate hate speech. Critics say the proposal crosses the line into censorship.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.parl.ca\/DocumentViewer\/en\/44-1\/bill\/C-63\/first-reading\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">bill<\/a> would create a new regulatory agency with the power to issue 24-hour takedown orders to companies for content deemed to be child sexual abuse or intimate photos and videos shared without consent, often referred to as <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/05\/18\/us\/fighting-revenge-porn.html\" title=\"\">revenge porn<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The agency could also initiate investigations of tech companies and impose hefty, multimillion dollar fines. Companies would have to submit digital safety plans, including design features to shield children from potentially harmful content.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The proposal by the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is meant to address \u201cthe anarchy and lawlessness\u201d of the internet, said Arif Virani, the justice minister and attorney general.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cRight now, you can empower your kids until you\u2019re blue in the face about the internet,\u201d Mr. Virani said in an interview. \u201cIf there are no rules on the internet, about how things will happen, how platforms will behave, then we\u2019ve got a problem. We\u2019re here to solve that problem.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But others say parts of the bill, particularly the targeting of hate speech, are so onerous that they would muzzle free expression. The Canadian writer Margaret Atwood <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MargaretAtwood\/status\/1766323300853297262\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">called<\/a> the bill \u201cOrwellian.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Since 2014, the police in Canada have seen a fourfold increase in reports of child pornography and sexual offenses against children online, according to <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www150.statcan.gc.ca\/n1\/daily-quotidien\/240312\/dq240312b-eng.htm\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">data<\/a> published in March by the national census agency.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Canada\u2019s move to regulate tech giants comes amid intensifying concern over the power of social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok, to disseminate harmful content with few checks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The European Union, the United Kingdom and Australia have all adopted laws meant to police online content, while the United States is also wrestling with how to address the matter. U.S. lawmakers summoned tech executives in January to a <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/01\/31\/technology\/senate-child-safety-social-media.html\" title=\"\">congressional hearing<\/a> on online child safety.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The bill in Canada is winding its way through Parliament and must be passed by the House of Commons and the Senate before it becomes law. Because Mr. Trudeau\u2019s Liberal Party has an agreement with an opposition party to support government legislation, some version of the proposal is likely to pass.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The comprehensive bill calls for civil and criminal penalties on hate speech, a move that has provoked the strongest opposition.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">One provision would, for the first time in Canada, establish hate as a separate crime that would encompass both written and physical acts. Currently, depending on the circumstances, hate can be added as an element to other criminal offenses but cannot be charged as a separate crime. The government argues that making it a separate crime would make it easier to track offenses.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Another measure would allow people to seek the equivalent of a protection order against someone they accuse of targeting them with hate.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The bill would also restore a regulation repealed by Parliament about a decade ago allowing Canadians to file complaints to an existing human rights commission that can ultimately lead to financial penalties of up to 50,000 Canadian dollars against people judged to have committed hate speech.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Canadian Civil Liberties Association criticized the bill, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/ccla.org\/press-release\/ccla-urges-substantial-amendments-to-the-online-harms-act\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">saying<\/a> it would lead to \u201coverbroad violations of expressive freedom, privacy, protest rights and liberty,\u201d and would give a new regulatory agency the power to be \u201cjudge, jury and executioner.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The government seems to want to \u201ccreate a much more sanitized internet and that\u2019s very harmful for free speech because it\u2019s the controversial stuff we need to be able to talk about,\u2019\u2019 said Josh Dehaas, counsel at the Canadian Constitution Foundation, a nonprofit that promotes civil liberties.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Virani, the justice minister, rejected any suggestion that the government was trying to limit free speech, saying the bill seeks to protect people from hatred.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cFree speech in this country doesn\u2019t include hate speech,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Some experts and tech companies praised the bill, saying that the stiffest penalties were reserved for the worst forms of content and would not trample on free speech.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIt\u2019s an incredibly thoughtful piece of legislation, if you\u2019re looking at balancing protection from harm and protection of fundamental rights,\u201d said Emily Laidlaw, a professor who focuses on cybersecurity law at the University of Calgary.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">As the bill is in the early stages of the legislative process and criticism has been robust, changes are likely to come before a final vote. Government officials said they expected that amendments would need to be negotiated.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The leader of the Conservative Party, Pierre Poilievre, has questioned the need for more bureaucracy, saying online crimes could be dealt with through expanded criminal enforcement.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But some supporters of the bill say it would provide a faster way to tackle crimes on the internet since tech platforms could be ordered to remove content within a day.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Beyond social media sites, the bill would also apply to pornography websites and livestreaming services like Discord. Private message platforms such as Signal would be excluded.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, said it supported the Canadian government\u2019s goal to protect young people online and wanted to collaborate \u201cwith lawmakers and industry peers on our longstanding priority to keep Canadians safe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Tech companies have responded to internet safety laws in other countries by saying that their internal tools, like parental controls, are already effective at protecting children, though some experts argue that it is still too easy for minors to bypass safeguards and access inappropriate content.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Canada\u2019s proposal has become a target for right-wing and conservative media outlets in the United States, who have seized on the criminal and civil penalties to accuse Mr. Trudeau of trying to suppress political speech.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Some supporters say the bill provides regular online users a way to rein in content that can sometimes have tragic consequences.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Carol Todd, who lives in British Columbia, knows from painful personal experience what it means to confront sexual images of children online.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Her daughter was 15 when she died by suicide after a Dutch man, using some two dozen fake accounts, shared sexual images of her online and demanded money. He was eventually arrested and convicted in 2022 for sexual extortion, and is imprisoned in the Netherlands.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ms. Todd said it was hard enough finding a place on Facebook to report the images of her daughter. \u201cIt was just so much work and it defeated my kid,\u201d she said. (The posts were eventually removed, Ms. Todd said, though Facebook never commented on the case.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Lianna McDonald, the director of the Canadian Center for Child Protection, said the government\u2019s proposed online regulations could prevent other tragic outcomes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe\u2019ve lost too many children,\u201d she said, \u201cand too many families have been devastated by the violence that occurs online.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\"><em class=\"css-2fg4z9 e1gzwzxm0\">Both Canada and the United States have a three-digit suicide and crisis hotline: 988. If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 and visit <\/em><a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/988.ca\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><em class=\"css-2fg4z9 e1gzwzxm0\">988.ca<\/em><\/a><em class=\"css-2fg4z9 e1gzwzxm0\"> (Canada) or <\/em><a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/988lifeline.org\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><em class=\"css-2fg4z9 e1gzwzxm0\">988lifeline.org<\/em><\/a><em class=\"css-2fg4z9 e1gzwzxm0\"> (United States) for a list of additional resources. This service offers bilingual crisis support in each country, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/04\/09\/world\/canada\/canada-hate-speech.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Canada has waded into the contentious issue of regulating online content with a sweeping proposal that would force technology companies to restrict and remove harmful material, especially posts involving children, that appears on their platforms. While the intent to better monitor online content has drawn widespread support, the bill has faced intense backlash over its [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":22607,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/04\/08\/multimedia\/00canada-online-harms-01-qmpj\/00canada-online-harms-01-qmpj-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[740,375,3609,3729,24327],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22606"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22606"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22606\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22608,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22606\/revisions\/22608"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}