(OTTAWA) A panel of experts convened by the government last year to advise on new legislation aimed at protecting children online is now urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government to urgently introduce the much-anticipated legislation, lest it put even more Canadians at risk. Children at risk.
The letter, published on Thursday, urges the central government to urgently introduce legislation to address the “harm caused by digital platforms”, particularly behavior and content that could harm children.
“Our lack of governance has put Canadian children at greater risk than their peers in the democratic world,” it says.
Canadian children are increasingly vulnerable to abuse of their privacy, harassment, extortion and cyberbullying by criminals in Canada and abroad on the platforms they use every day.
Excerpt from 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 panel.
Mme Laidlaw, who helped draft the letter, says it’s time to push the bill.
“Other democracies, including the United Kingdom, the European Union and Australia, have introduced and passed laws aimed at protecting their citizens online, with specific obligations to protect children,” we read in the letter.
“Some of these are second- or third-generation online safety laws, while Canada has yet to introduce its first federal online safety law. It is urgent that Canada take action 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 produced a “broad consensus” that sites should be held accountable for their services and the resulting harm.
Canadian law requires online sites to protect their users from harm and “ensure they work to establish a regulatory body with the power to investigate and audit sites and impose corrective measures and fines,” the letter says.
The letter also calls for more transparency and verification tools to ensure companies comply with the requirements.
“Of course we will not all agree on the details of the bill, but it is time for an urgent public debate. »
No specific incident prompted the letter, M assuredme Laidlaw — It’s only been “the slow march of time” since the government launched its first round of consultations on what the law should look like several years ago.
Then, she said, “everything went quiet.”
Calls for action have grown as the war between Israel and Hamas has led to more anti-Semitism and Islamophobia online, and police are promoting online safety after a 12-year-old British Columbia boy who was sexually assaulted online took his own life. Life last month.
Earlier this week, Public Safety Minister Dominique LeBlanc said the incident was a “sad reminder” of the dangers of online harm, particularly for vulnerable people.
Photo by Spencer Colby, Canadian Press Archives
Minister of Public Security, Dominique LeBlanc
One of the signatories to the letter was Carol Todd, the mother of Amanda Todd, whose teenage daughter committed suicide more than a decade after posting a video online.
Aydin Koban, a Dutch national, was convicted of extortion, harassment, possession of child pornography and having contact with a young person with intent to commit a sexual offence. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison by a British Columbia court, but is awaiting a decision on how he will serve that sentence in the Netherlands.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau fired back on Wednesday when New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jagmeet Singh questioned in the Lok Sabha why he had not tabled the bill yet.
Mr. Trudeau said his government is “serious” about advancing measures to protect against online harm.
Justice Minister Arif Virani promised to introduce a bill as soon as possible, but stressed that deciding how to regulate online platforms would be difficult.
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