OTTAWA, February 26, 2024
The Government of Canada has introduced Bill C-63, the Online Harms Act, to address the significant risks posed by harmful content online, including the sexual exploitation of children and the promotion of self-harm, violence, and hate. The bill aims to create stronger online protection for children and all Canadians by holding online platforms accountable for the dissemination and amplification of harmful content on their platforms. The proposed legislation mandates online platforms to adopt measures to reduce the risk of harm in specific categories of harmful content, such as child sexual exploitation, intimate content posted without consent, violent extremism, and hate speech. Non-compliance could result in strict penalties for online platforms.
Additionally, the bill seeks to enhance laws to protect Canadians from hatred online and offline, including creating a definition of “hatred” in the Criminal Code, increasing penalties for hate propaganda offenses, and establishing new remedies for online hate speech in the Canadian Human Rights Act. The legislation also aims to strengthen measures to combat Internet child pornography and establish a Digital Safety Commission and Digital Safety Ombudsperson to oversee and enforce the Online Harms Act’s regulatory framework.
The Government emphasizes the importance of ensuring that everyone in Canada can access a safe online environment where they can express themselves freely without fearing for their safety. The focus of the new framework is on addressing seven types of extremely harmful online content, particularly those that victimize children or incite violence and hatred. Online platforms, including livestreaming and adult content services, are expected to be transparent and accountable for ensuring the safety of all Canadians, especially children, who are the most vulnerable members of society.
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