Online harms against minors, victims must be criminalized, not regulated: Poilievre
CTV
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says he prefers a tough-on-crime approach to online safety issues affecting young people, rather than trying to regulate them.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says he prefers a tough-on-crime approach to online safety issues affecting young people, rather than trying to regulate them.
Poilievre delivered the message in a statement released the day after the Liberal government introuced its long-awaited Online Harms Act, which proposes setting up a new digital safety commission.
The bill would compel social media platforms to outline how they plan to reduce risk and require them to promptly remove certain content, including child sex abuse images and intimate images shared without consent.
Experts consulted by the government say it's a dramatic improvement from the proposal the Liberals put forward in 2021, which proposed requiring platforms to remove content flagged as harmful within 24 hours.
Critics warned that approach was overly broad and risked violating freedom of expression, which sent officials back to the drawing board.
The Liberals have instead proposed targeting only the most egregious content online, pushing platforms to reduce the risk of exposure to such material or face hefty fines, and requiring them to produce safety plans.
Giving companies incentive to minimize exposure to harmful content is the right way to go, said Taylor Owen, a McGill University professor who advised the government on the bill.
