Five things to know about Canada's proposed law to guard against online harms
CTV
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government has tabled its long-awaited legislation to better protect Canadians, and particularly youth, against online harms. Here are five things Bill C-63 proposes to do.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government has tabled its long-awaited legislation to better protect Canadians, and particularly youth, against online harms. Here are five things Bill C-63 proposes to do.
The government wants to target the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, including deepfakes generated by artificial intelligence and content that "sexually victimizes a child or revictimizes a survivor." The bill would also cover anything online that is used to bully a child or urge them to commit self-harm.
Content that incites violent extremism or terrorism, along with material that incites violence or stirs hatred, would also be subject to the new law.
There is overlap with five categories of content the government proposed tackling in a 2021 consultation document. One key difference: the earlier plan included provisions around hate speech writ large, whereas the new bill does not.
The bill would usher in new rules for online platforms, one of which is broadly defined as the "duty to act responsibly." Companies would be expected to reduce exposure to harmful content by "continuously" assessing risks, developing mitigation strategies and providing tools for users to flag harmful content.
The legislation would also require platforms to publish "digital safety plans" to outline measures to reduce the risk of exposing users to harmful content and track their effectiveness. Companies would also have to share data with researchers.
The government says the new rules would apply to social media sites, "user-uploaded adult content" and "live streaming services" with a certain number of users, a threshold that would be spelled out in detail in coming regulations. Cabinet would have the power to target smaller services "when they pose a significant risk of harm."
