Canada’s Liberal Government Advances “Online Harms” Censorship Bill

If you’re tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Canada’s Justice Minister Arif Virani has advanced a highly controversial bill, named Bill C-63, proposing comprehensive new legislation aimed at addressing online “hate” speech. We obtained a copy of the bill for you here. The bill covers seven types of harmful material, from content sexually exploiting or re-victimizing children and survivors, to content promoting violence and extremism. But it also outlaws online “hatred,” so-called “hate speech,” and forms of deepfakes. In an attempt to decrease the prevalence of harmful content, this legislation puts the onus on online platforms to be accountable and transparent about how they handle such content. Platforms like social media and live-streaming services are included under the legislation’s “online services” umbrella. The bill would also create a new “standalone hate crime offense that would apply to every offence in the Criminal Code and in any other Act of Parliament, allowing penalties up to life imprisonment to denounce and deter this hateful conduct as a crime in itself,” – the briefing explained. The proposed law would also raise the maximum punishments for the four hate offenses from five years to life imprisonment for advocating genocide and from two years to five years for the others when persecuted by way of indictment. The Liberal government states that the bill’s proposed regulations centre on the platforms most frequented by Canadians. However, the specifics will depend on whether these platforms meet the eventual user thresholds….Canada’s Liberal Government Advances “Online Harms” Censorship Bill