BPC Bulletin: Canada's Online Harms Act: Reportage
News Reports and Commentary Selected by Franklin Carter of the Book and Periodical Council’s Freedom of Expression Committee.
In Parliament, the Liberal government of Canada has introduced the Online Harms Act (Bill C-63).
Arif Virani, the minister of justice, introduced the bill in the House of Commons on February 26, 2024.
Bill C-63 aims to
- protect children from sexual exploitation and cyberbullying,
- enhance reporting of internet child pornography offences,
- strengthen the laws against hate propaganda and incitement to violence,
- impose responsibilities on companies that operate online to better protect citizens,
- create a digital safety commission, and
- create an office for an ombudsperson.
The bill aims to accomplish other goals too, but they are described more fully in the news reports below.
[Editorial note: the news reports in this bulletin are listed in chronological order. The newest news reports appear near the top. The oldest news reports appear near the bottom. A separate bulletin provides Web links to commentary about the Online Harms Act.]
THE ONLINE HARMS ACT
Read facts about the bill and see its current status in Parliament:
https://www.parl.ca/LegisInfo/en/bill/44-1/c-63
GOVERNMENT MEDIA RELEASES
Department of Canadian Heritage
News Release
Backgrounder
REPORTAGE
published from March 1 to March 10, 2024
In the Toronto Star, Raisa Patel reports:
Experts concerned by Ottawa's attempt to rein in hate speech (thestar.com)
Stephanie Taylor of the Canadian Press reports:
Government says only extreme online hate speech would be probed by human rights body (yahoo.com)
In The Catholic Register, Quinton Amundson reports:
Online bill could criminalize free speech, critics say (catholicregister.org)
In the National Magazine, Dale Smith reports:
National - Canada's digital safety balancing act (nationalmagazine.ca)
In the National Post, Stuart Thomson interviews Aaron Wudrick of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute:
Online harms bill could spark 'an absolute tsunami of complaints' | National Post
In The Globe and Mail, Marie Woolf reports:
Touria Izri and Mercedes Stephenson of Global News report:
Online Harms Act not about ‘insults launched from a smartphone’: minister - National | Globalnews.ca
Stephanie Taylor of the Canadian Press reports:
REPORTAGE
published from February 26 to February 29, 2024
At Blakes, Liliane Langevin, John Lenz, Céline Poitras and Sunny Handa write:
Canada’s Bill C-63: Online Harms Act Targets Harmful Content on Social Media | Blakes
In The Canadian Jewish News, Ellin Bessner interviews Bernie Farber and Michael Geist:
Will Canada's new law regulating online hate speech be derailed by politics? (thecjn.ca)
In the National Post, Joseph Brean writes:
Section 13: The controversial hate speech law the Liberals revived | National Post
Stephanie Taylor of the Canadian Press reports:
In The Globe and Mail, Marie Woolf reports:
Justice Minister defends house arrest power for people feared to commit a hate crime in future - The Globe and Mail
In the Ottawa Sun, Lorrie Goldstein reports:
GOLDSTEIN: Online harms bill an assault on free speech, civil liberties groups say | Ottawa Sun
In The Globe and Mail, Marie Woolf reports:
Online harms bill’s proposed changes risk silencing free speech, experts warn - The Globe and Mail
Jason Vermes of CBC Radio and Matt Galloway of The Current report:
Online harms act won't ban 'awful but lawful' content online, says justice minister | CBC Radio
David Baxter of Global News reports:
Meta open to Online Harms Act talks, Pornhub reviewing legislation - National | Globalnews.ca
Stephanie Taylor of the Canadian Press reports:
Online harms against minors, victims must be criminalized, not regulated: Poilievre (citynews.ca)
Stephanie Taylor of the Canadian Press reports:
Five things to know about the new online harms bill | CTV News
Rachel Aiello of CTV News reports:
Online harms bill: What has reaction been? | CTV News
In The Canadian Jewish News, Jonathan Rothman reports:
In The Globe and Mail, Samantha Edwards reports:
In The Globe and Mail, Marie Woolf reports:
Online harms bill puts onus on tech platforms to remove child pornography - The Globe and Mail
Darren Major of CBC News reports:
Long-awaited online harms bill proposes higher sentences for spreading hate online | CBC News
Peter Zimonjic of CBC News reports:
The Liberals are set to unveil an online harms bill today. Here's what you need to know | CBC News
David Baxter of Global News reports:
Online Harms Act aims to remove ‘harmful content,’ address hate - National | Globalnews.ca
In the National Post, Catherine Lévesque reports:
New Liberal 'online harms' bill make hate penalty up to life in prison | National Post
The Canadian Press reports:
New online harms bill gets stamp of approval from Amanda Todd’s mom - Tofino-Ucluelet Westerly News
Stephanie Taylor of the Canadian Press reports:
Online harms: Liberals seek to create digital safety commission, new ombudsperson - WesternWheel.ca
Rachel Aiello of CTV News reports:
New bill aimed at combating online harms introduced | CTV News
Anthony Murdoch of LifeSiteNews reports:
Kady O’Malley reports in iPolitics:
Liberals poised to unveil long-promised ‘online harms’ bill | iPolitics
REPORTAGE
Published on February 25, 2024, and earlier
Naama Weingarten and Travis Dhanraj of CBC News report:
Dylan Robertson of the Canadian Press reports:
Online safety key to Ottawa's new gender plan | CTV News
Clare Marie Merkowsky of LifeSiteNews reports:
Stephanie Taylor of the Canadian Press reports:
Canada's online harms bill coming next week: PM | CTV News
John Paul Tasker of CBC News reports:
Asked about online harms bill, Poilievre raises Trudeau's past use of blackface | CBC News
Christian Paas-Lang of CBC News reports:
Experts urge federal government to pursue moderate, 'judicious' approach to harmful content online | CBC News
Stephanie Taylor of the Canadian Press reports:
Liberals don't want to regulate speech with online harms bill, justice minister says | CBC News
The Book and Periodical Council was formed in 1975 as the Book and Periodical Development Council to provide a venue for members to discuss industry issues, address mutual concerns and undertake projects for the benefit of Canadian writing and publishing.
