Politicians and internet safety advocates are reacting to the federal government’s highly-anticipated online harms bill aimed at protecting children and all Canadians from hateful and dangerous content.
Bill C-63 was tabled by Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Arif Virani on Monday evening in the House of Commons.
The bill was initially introduced in 2021 during the Liberal government’s election campaign, to much scrutiny, where it promised to ratify online harms legislation in its first 100 days of office, which did not happen.
The updated version of the bill outlines plans to hold social media sites and other online services accountable for the content displayed on their platforms as well as its intention to implement a crackdown on the non-consensual sharing of sexually explicit images, including AI generated deep fakes, content that sexually victimizes children, and the dissemination of terrorist content and hate speech.
The government is seeking to create a digital safety commission responsible for enforcing the legislation, which would include the formation of the The Digital Safety Office of Canada and the
position of Digital Safety Ombudsperson of Canada.
The bill also stipulates changes to the Criminal Code, including life imprisonment for advocating or invoking genocide via the internet, previously punishable by up to five years in prison.
Virani tweeted shortly after the bill was tabled, calling it “a critical piece of legislation.”
In a Monday press conference, NDP MP Peter Julian said the party will be “working with all parties and all members of Parliament to get the bill improved and to get it through because we know that we need to bring an end to the Wild West on the internet.”
Meanwhile, opposition leader Pierre Poilievre advocated last week for the implementation of ID requirements for internet users accessing adult content online.
But the leader of the Government in the House of Commons Steve MacKinnon criticized Pierre Poilievre’s digital ID suggestions telling media that the newly proposed laws were a much more “comprehensive and meaningful response to the dangers posed online than the bill that he [Poilivre] supports.”
OpenMedia, a non-profit organization aiming to make the internet a safer space, released a statement in support of the proposed legislation.
“Bill C-63 is a night and day improvement to the government’s previous plans for regulating harmful online content…many of the worst 2021 surveillance and censorship ideas are gone, and in their place we’re seeing a more thoughtful, calibrated approach. But today is a start, not the endpoint. Over the days ahead, we’ll be giving C-63 a close reading to identify remaining problems and ensure they are addressed in the amendment process,” OpenMedia’s Executive Director Matt Hatfield said.
The National Council of Canadian Muslims also came out in favour of the Bill on X saying it was a welcome response to unfounded acts of violence against the community.
“No one should suffer acts of hate without accountability and justice. We are glad to see this problem be addressed at the systemic level…we want to be clear that we continue to study the Bill in its entirety and will be keenly engaged in the committee process. We look forward to positively engaging with the government to make sure that the Bill helps all Canadians, and does not result in unforeseen consequences,” the statement said.
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs echoed that sentiment.
“Given the dramatic rise in antisemitism, this legislation has come at a time when it is needed most. We welcome the introduction of the federal government’s bill to combat online hate,” it said on X.
