Online harms and more in focus as Parliament returns

With Parliament returning today, there are a handful of bills affecting the online world still before politicians. MPs have roughly one year to act on the bills before the next election must be called. But, since this is a minority government, an election may come sooner than that. Opposition leader and Conservative Pierre Poilievre (Carleton) is pushing for a non-confidence motion that would force an election, but both the Bloc Québécois and the New Democrats would have to support it to bring down the Trudeau administration. Bill C-63 One major piece of legislation is Bill C-63, the Online Harms act. Introduced last February, the proposal seeks to deal with hate speech and child exploitation. The bill is currently awaiting second reading in the House of Commons. Senator Julie Miville-Dechêne has criticized the bill for boosting the penalties for promoting genocide. Government representative in the Senate Marc Gold responded that C-63 is likely to be amended greatly before it is adopted. Thursday, Conservative MP Michelle Rempel-Garner (Calgary Nose Hill) announced she would be tabling her own version of an online harms bill which she said would address shortcomings in the government legislation. Private members’ bills sometimes have a much tougher time getting adopted. Bill C-27 The Digital Charter act, Bill C-27, is currently undergoing clause-by-clause study in the House of Commons Industry Committee. If the bill passes, it would establish the Personal Information and Data Protection Tribunal, a body that would review recommendations from the privacy commissioner to impose administrative monetary penalties on certain parties found violating the proposed Consumer Privacy and Protection Act. It would have the authority to impose such penalties as well as appeal decisions made by the privacy commissioner. The opposition argued that such a tribunal would slow down and interfere with the abilities and independence of the commissioner. There has been much discussion over whether the Artificial Intelligence and Data Act (AIDA) should continue to be included in the legislation or split off into a separate bill. The Wire Report previously reported that a clause establishing a stand-alone tribunal to monitor the provisions of the act is unlikely to pass, as all three opposition parties were against the move. Bill C-26 Also in the docket is bill C-26, the Cybersecurity act. The legislation was introduced two years ago and is now at second reading stage in the Senate. It was explained as a two-pronged approach, with one component concentrating on telecommunications while the other focuses on telecom, transport, energy and finance. A panel at an International Institute for Communications session unanimously endorsed the bill last year. S-210 Finally, there is a Senate bill introduced by Senator Milville-Dechêne, S-210, an act to restrict young persons’ online access to sexually explicit material. It has passed through the Red Chamber, and is now at report stage in the House of Commons, having passed second reading in the House. By legislating age verification, Rempel-Garner’s new bill could step on the toes of S-210. –Reporting by Paul Park at ppark@thewirereport.ca

Online harms and more in focus as Parliament returns

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By Paul Park
| September 16, 2024

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Online harms and more in focus as Parliament returns

News | By Paul Park | September 16, 2024

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By Paul Park
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