Conservative MPs discuss possibility Liberal, Tory online harms bills could be studied together

As the federal justice committee works through a pre-study of the Liberals’ proposed online harms legislation, known as Bill C-63, some Conservative MPs seek to have their peers consider the merits of a bill pitched by one of their own. A large-scale bill introduced in February, C-63 was originally designed to, among other points, require that social media operators take more responsibility for harmful content appearing on their platforms, as well as tackle changes to the Canadian Human Rights Act and the country’s Criminal Code meant to penalize people for hate-related offences. Advocates have for months been seeking to convince lawmakers to split the bill into two pieces, in order to separate the rules and regulation for social media operators from the changes to the Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code, due to concerns over the latter parts’ potential threats to privacy and threats to freedom of expression. Last week, Liberal Justice Minister Arif Virani (Parkdale—High Park, Ont.) announced the four-part bill would be split into two separate tracks in order to push work on it along, saying the weeks-long filibuster of the House has led to too much time being lost for work on the bill. The rules for online platforms, the duties of the proposed regulator – to be known as the Digital Safety Commission – and mandatory reporting of child porn will constitute the first half of the split bill. They were originally parts one and four of C-63. The second half of the split bill will focus on the proposed amendments to Canada’s Criminal Code and the Human Rights Act – which were parts two and three of the original bill. While Virani has not laid out specifically how the split bill will work its way through the House of Commons, the justice committee is working on a pre-study of the bill. READ MORE: As online harms bill splits in two, advocates continue seeking amendments Senator questions genocide provisions of Online Harms Bill Conservative MP Tako Van Popta (Langley—Aldergrove, B.C.) sought on Monday, Dec. 10 to remind justice committee members there is another option sitting on the table next to C-63. In September, Tory MP Michelle Rempel Garner (Calgary Nose Hill, Alta) pitched Bill C-412 as an alternative to C-63, saying her party intended to “do what the Liberals have not,” and table legislation aimed at protecting Canadians online “while preserving their civil liberties.” The private member’s bill bears some similarities to the proposals in C-63, though it would not involve a dedicated federal regulator such as the one pitched by the Liberal bill. Rempel Garner suggested the Tory bill would update existing laws around criminal harassment and non-consensual sharing of intimate images, including AI deepfakes. It would also impose a duty of care for online platforms to protect minors, or risk “steep fines” and lawsuits from individuals. The bill would require online platforms to “provide parents with safeguards, controls, and transparency to prevent harm to their kids,” as well as “implement privacy-preserving and trustworthy age verification methods … to restrict access to any content that is inappropriate for minors.” Rempel Garner previously highlighted measures that would give victims of harassment opportunity for recourse, including requesting a judge to order social media platforms to disclose the identity of an alleged abuser to authorities. Van Popta raised in a notice of motion Monday that the committee could potentially consider pre-studying C-412 at the same time it pre-studies C-63 in order to help move along the process of enacting some sort of online harms legislation. Van Popta said a dual pre-study could allow members to examine what other legislative options might be available to protect people online, “which could be quickly advanced by consensus without the controversial elements of C-63.” “Bill C-63 proposes giving full responsibility to develop regulations for online platforms to a regulator that hasn’t been formed yet and does so with too much ambiguity on what regulations this body will propose or administer,” Van Popta said. “A better approach to keep Canadians safe online while protecting their civil liberties would be to legislate a defined list of responsibilities that online platforms have to undertake to keep Canadians safe.” Canada research chair in cybersecurity Emily Laidlaw said during the committee meeting Monday that the ultimate online safety goals of C-63 – many of which are shared by C-412 – could not likely be adequately reached absent a dedicated regulator such as the one that would be established under C-63, even by using or improving existing laws or working through the country’s court system. “Although the courts are an important process, this requires a regulator that can work with industry, that is more flexible, that can work with impacted community and civil society groups, and that has the power for quick content removal for that worst-of-the-worst . This is an ongoing project, and so in the long term, I think this will make things better, but certainly not perfect.” Conservative MP Michelle Ferreri (Peterborough—Kawartha, Ont.) pointed out that it could take “years” to establish a regulatory body under C-63 that would able to deal with individuals’ requests to platforms to immediately remove harmful content, such as child pornography or revenge porn, meaning people would still have to wait to see the content takedown effects of C-63 were it to become law. She argued C-412 would instead empower courts to facilitate action soon after becoming law. Ferreri said her party is most interested in determining the “best recommendations so that we have implementation as soon as possible to protect children online.” Matt Hatfield, executive director of digital rights advocacy group OpenMedia, told the justice committee that if the two bills were stacked next to each other as-is, with none of the changes advocated for C-63 having been made nor a split of that bill on the table, then OpenMedia would prefer to see C-412 in action. That said, he proposed to the committee that it has an “exciting opportunity” now that the bill has been split to “strengthen and pass a version of C-63 which I think, of the Canadian examples, provides the best overall protections.” Algorithmic transparency raised as issue New Democratic Party MP Peter Julian (New Westminster—Burnaby, B.C.) raised for conversation yet another separate private member's bill, C-292, in his statements during the committee meeting. Julian is the sponsor of that bill, which has sat at first reading in the House of Commons since June 2022. C-292 is focused specifically on keeping online communication service providers transparent on how they use algorithms. The bill proposes, among other things, that social media operators disclose how personal information they collect on users is used by algorithms to decide what content to show and not show to users, and that efforts should be made to avoid discrimination based on algorithmic data. Julian asked Laidlaw to what extent she thinks part one of C-63 – the part involving the Digital Safety Commission regulator and rules for online platforms – could potentially be augmented with pieces of C-292 “to ensure that we actually have a situation where Canadians can see the transparency around algorithms, and in that way, as well, ensure greater safety?” Laidlaw agreed that algorithmic accountability should be dealt with. She noted that it is loosely covered by bill C-63, but it “requires a leap of faith, so we need more in the legislation.” She said there is scope for the Digital Safety Commission proposed by C-63 to develop codes of practice and rules regarding algorithmic transparency, but that “algorithmic accountability needs to be embedded in the legislation itself.” “I think if we take your bill and some of the provisions in that, and that becomes a blueprint to flesh out those parts of Bill C-63 and part one, I think that we’d be in a good position,” said Laidlaw. Hatfield agreed that C-63 could go further into looking into what algorithms are doing, “from the framework of providing more transparency, giving researchers good access to study algorithms and determining how they're impacting the public,” but said it should not stand in the way of moving legislation forward. “If MPs can agree on some language there and get it done and move on to the rest of the bill, I think that would be healthy. I wouldn't hinge the bill’s future on it, but I think that’s the appropriate approach,” Hatfield said. The committee pre-study of C-63 is set to continue the morning of Thursday, Dec. 12, with appearances by more advocates and legal experts. Hatfield on Monday implored committee members to carefully consider the information they receive from such witnesses. “I hope you will listen very carefully to all of them and pass many of the fixes they suggest to you. This is not the time to be a rubber stamp. The new Digital Safety Commission is granted extraordinary power to review, guide, and make binding decisions on how platforms moderate the public expression of Canadians in the online spaces we use the most,” Hatfield noted. “That's appropriate if and only if you make sure they carefully consider and minimize impacts on our freedom of expression and privacy…” hdaley@thewirereport.ca With files from Phalen Tynes-MacDonald

Conservative MPs discuss possibility Liberal, Tory online harms bills could be studied together

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By Hannah Daley
| December 10, 2024

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