Don’t push sexual content onto the “dark web”: advocates to ETHI committee

As the House of Commons Ethics committee considers the protection and privacy of individuals online, advocates criticized its lack of consideration for sex workers Monday and questioned how existing legislation may adequately protect people from exploitation and the non-consensual sharing of sexual content while avoiding a regulator with a mandate that may negatively impact their industry. Responding to a question from Conservative MP Colin Carrie, Melissa Lukings -- a JD candidate at the University of New Brunswick researching Canadian cybersecurity laws -- said the onus could be placed on platforms such as a Pornhub to verify that content is posted with the consent of the people involved rather than implementing heavier restrictions that might drive sexual content to the “dark web.” “By banning things and by prohibiting them, we’re forcing them underground. How did prohibition work out?” Lukings asked rhetorically. Lukings suggested that boosting the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) with heftier fines through the Digital Charter Implementation Act being discussed as part of Bill C-11 -- the federal government’s planned privacy law update -- would make it possible to require more oversight from platforms such as Pornhub. “It wouldn’t be far-fetched at all to increase the fines for online platforms without banning them entirely,” Lukings said. “It’s a safer idea than forcing people onto the dark web where we literally have our hands tied, we can’t intervene or help at all.” The Ethics Committee has been looking into how to hold companies such as MindGeek, which operates Pornhub and several other sexual content sharing platforms and has an office in Montreal, accountable as they are accused of hosting illegal content -- including content featuring children. A potential anti-online harm regulator currently in discussion as part of forthcoming legislation from Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault could possibly deal with content exploiting children and the non-consensual sharing of intimate images as well as issues such as hate speech, terrorism and violent content. The committee heard last week that Canada’s laws on sexual exploitation of citizens are “fairly exhaustive and clear,” but that international cooperating is necessary as content can be shared on platforms that may be headquartered in one country but legally registered in another with servers in yet a third and different country. Lukings and the other witnesses, Sandra Wesley, executive director of Montreal-based advocacy group Stella, and Jennifer Clamen, national coordinator with the Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform, said it is important to consider how further regulation may impact sex workers. Clamen said the committee’s hearings up to this point have been damaging to sex workers, and said that “targetting internet sex work during a pandemic is such an aggressive and violent move on your part and on the part of everybody who is considering regulation right now. The internet has been a safe haven for so many workers who are unable to face the conditions of COVID like so many other workers.” “We can’t stress enough that more regulation is not the answer and that it will just actually harm sex workers and harm the industry in general with respect to sex workers’ rights.” Clamen also said the focus on child exploitation and human trafficking by the committee has been “completely overblown.” “That is not to suggest these things don’t exist in real space and time, but they have been overblown with respect to the conversations in this committee. The framing of all content online as youth exploitation really undermines sex workers’ ability to keep safe.” Clamen said it has been made clear that “sex workers are not welcome at this table and are not considered valued participants. We were told outright that this committee didn’t concern us and it hasn’t been safe for sex workers to come and publicly testify as a result in what we consider as a hostile setting.” Clamen also said any approach to the issues that does not consider the needs of sex workers will harm them as they are systematically ignored in policy that impacts their lives. “No other industry would create regulation without the input of the workers.” Monday’s meeting abruptly came to a pause lasting about 40 minutes after a motion by Liberal MP Brenda Shanahan to have more witnesses appear before the committee in the future. When the meeting returned, it was adjourned after criticism from some members over the witnesses’ being cut off. In a tweet following the adjournment, Stella said “in Canada, sex work is a crime so communications and ads by sex workers would obviously be captured by any regulator of illegal sex. Sexual education, consensual communication between teens, especially queer youth, would also end up being targeted.” It said in another tweet the Ethics Committee “nonsense is a perfect example of how sex workers are treated with contempt. There is zero chance that this would have happened to any other witnesses.” - Reporting by Hannah Daley at hdaley@thewirereport.ca and editing by Jenna Cocullo at jcocullo@thewirereport.ca

Don’t push sexual content onto the “dark web”: advocates to ETHI committee

Broadcast | April 19, 2021

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Don’t push sexual content onto the “dark web”: advocates to ETHI committee

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