On the 26th of February, 2024, the national administration launched Bill C-63, a new bill formed to protect children and charge hate offenses.
The bill needs online forums to take out child pornography and other harmful content within 24 hours.
The criteria would also develop a new freestanding hate conviction, which could be applied to any crime under the Criminal Code where the underlying motive was hatred.
It would also elevate the sentence for hate-propaganda offenses from five years to life imprisonment for accompanying genocide.
Again, the criteria would change the Canadian Human Rights Act to declare that publishing hate speech on the internet is bigotry and offer individuals the choice of filing a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission.
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Table of Contents
5 Vital Things To Know About Canada’s New Online Harms Bill C-63
Recognize Certain Sorts Of Harmful Information
The administration plans to aim at the non-consensual allocation of intimate images, which includes deepfakes developed by artificial intelligence and anything that sexually oppresses a child or re-oppresses a survivor.
The bill would also have to do with anything utilized on the internet to taunt a child or motivate them to endanger themselves.
The suggested law would also be used for anything that encourages violent extremism or terrorism and also as material that promotes brutality or hostility.
There is an overlap with the five kinds of material the administration suggested addressing in a 2021 consultation document.
One significant disparity is that the past proposition has to do with broad limitations banning hate speech, while the new standard does not.
Develop New Rules For Online Platforms
The standard would develop new laws for online forums, one of which is primarily described as the duty to behave responsibly.
Firms must reduce their disclosure of dangerous content by steadily assessing threats, using alleviation ways, and providing ways for users to report hazardous information.
The legislation would also compel forums to present digital security strategies, summarizing patterns to reduce the threat of users being exposed to harmful content and tracking their success.
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Firms would also be required to share information with researchers. Based on the administration, the new rules would be applied to social media platforms, users uploading adult content, and live streaming services with a certain number of subscribers. This threshold will be explained in future legislation.
The cabinet would possess the power to aim at smaller services when they display a significant threat of harm.
Develop A New Regulator And Ombudsman
The authority intends to launch a new digital safety council comprising five cabinet-assigned members.
It would be able to demand the withdrawal of images published without a person’s approval and also anything that sexually manipulates a child or abuses a survivor within 24 hours.
The council would differ from the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission, which manages conventional broadcasters. Foolish complaints would be filtered out.
The council would assign a new, autonomous ombudsperson to represent subscribers. It would offer data concerning any complaints individuals wanted to enroll in and make suggestions to social media services, the controller, and the administration.
Bolster Reporting On Child Pornography
The administration also plans to modify present legislation that needs internet service givers to report situations of child sex abuse images online.
Modifications would prolong laws similar to those in social media forums and develop authority to centralize compulsory reporting of these offenses via an assigned law enforcement body.
The legislation would prolong the time such information can be maintained to support police inquiries. It would also extend the current 24-month statute of restrictions for conviction to five years.
Modify The Canadian Human Rights Act To Include Severe Penalties For Hate Offenses
The administration plans to attach internet hate speech as a way of bigotry in the legislation, permitting nationals to file complaints with the Canadian Human Rights Commission concerning individuals who post such content.
The criminal code will also be amended, increasing the highest sentence for four hate propaganda convictions. For instance, an individual found guilty of encouraging genocide could experience a lifetime jail penalty rather than five years.
The administration also plans to create a new hate crime conviction that could be used for any other crime instead of only as an aggravating aspect at the time of punishment.
