#tech-regulation

The Canadian federal government's Bill C-63, the Online Harms Act, aims to create a safer digital environment by holding online platforms accountable for harmful content. The proposed legislation would establish a new Digital Safety Commission, introduce a regulatory framework for platforms, and create new criminal offenses, including life imprisonment for advocating genocide. However, the bill has ignited a fierce debate, with critics from civil liberties groups and tech experts raising significant concerns about its potential impact on free speech, privacy, and the risk of over-censorship, making its legislative journey highly contentious.

The Canadian federal government's Bill C-63, the Online Harms Act, aims to create a safer digital environment by compelling online platforms to remove harmful content and establishing a new Digital Safety Commission. The legislation targets seven categories of harm, including child sexual exploitation and non-consensual intimate content. However, the bill has ignited a fierce debate, with critics raising significant concerns about its potential impact on free expression, citing broad definitions and severe new penalties, including life imprisonment for certain hate speech offenses, which they argue could lead to censorship.

The Canadian government has introduced Bill C-63, the Online Harms Act, a comprehensive legislative framework aimed at protecting users, particularly children, from harmful online content. The bill proposes creating a new Digital Safety Commission to enforce new rules for social media platforms, imposing a duty to act responsibly. It also includes significant amendments to the Criminal Code and the Canadian Human Rights Act, introducing a new hate crime offense with severe penalties. The legislation has ignited a fierce debate, with critics from civil liberties groups raising serious concerns about its potential impact on free expression.