(Ottawa) An expert panel convened by the government last year to consider a new law to protect children online is now urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government to introduce the expected law quickly or risk being… Affecting even more Canadians, children are at risk.
Published yesterday at 9:52 p.m.
Stephanie Taylor The Canadian Press
The letter, published on Thursday, calls on the federal government to urgently introduce legislation to address the “harms of digital platforms,” particularly behavior and content that could affect children.
“Our lack of governance has left Canadian children at greater risk than their peers across much of the democratic world,” it said.
Canadian children are increasingly becoming victims of blatant privacy violations, harassment, extortion and cyberbullying by perpetrators in Canada and abroad on platforms they use every day.
Excerpt from the letter
Pierre Trudel, a professor at the University of Montreal’s Faculty of Law, and Emily Laidlaw, a law professor at the University of Calgary, are co-chairs of the government’s advisory group.
Ms Laidlaw, who helped draft the letter, says it is “time to push for the bill”.
“Other democracies, including the United Kingdom, the European Union and Australia, have introduced and passed laws to protect their citizens online, with specific obligations to protect children,” the letter said.
“Some of these are second or third generation online safety laws, while Canada has not yet introduced its first federal online safety law. Canada must act urgently to protect the safety and fundamental rights of Canadians. »
The letter, signed Thursday morning by more than 50 experts and advocates, said two years of federal consultations had resulted in a “broad consensus” that platforms should be held accountable for their services and any resulting harm.
Canadian law should impose a duty on online platforms to ensure they work to protect their users from harm and create a regulator “with the power to investigate and audit platforms, impose corrective measures and impose fines.” “ says the letter.
The letter also calls for greater transparency and verification tools to ensure companies are complying with the requirements.
“We will certainly not all agree on the details of the bill, but it is time for an urgent public debate about it. »
There was no particular incident that prompted the letter, Laidlaw said – just the “slow passage of time” since the momentum a few years ago when the government launched its first round of consultations on what the legislation should look like.
Then, she said, “everything calmed down.”
Calls for action are growing as the war between Israel and Hamas leads to more anti-Semitism and Islamophobia online and police promote online safety after a 12-year-old British Columbia boy who was the victim of online sextortion robbed himself of life last month.
Earlier this week, Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said the incident was a “tragic reminder” of the risks that online harm poses, particularly to vulnerable people.
PHOTO SPENCER COLBY, CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVE
The Minister of Public Safety, Dominic LeBlanc
One of the letter’s signatories is Carol Todd, mother of Amanda Todd, whose teenage daughter committed suicide more than a decade ago after posting a video online detailing how she was blackmailed by an online predator.
Aydin Coban, a Dutch citizen, was convicted of extortion, harassment, possession of child pornography and communicating with a juvenile with the intent to commit a sex crime. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison by a court in British Columbia but is awaiting a decision on how he will serve that sentence in the Netherlands.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hit back on Wednesday when New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jagmeet Singh questioned him in the House of Commons about why he had not introduced the bill yet.
Mr. Trudeau said his government remains “serious” about pushing forward measures to protect against online harm.
Justice Minister Arif Virani promised to submit a draft law as soon as possible, but stressed that it was difficult to determine how online platforms should be regulated.