The path to C-63
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On December 4, 2024, Minister Virani announced that the government will move to split the Bill into two parts, separating the proposed regulations for social media companies away from new proposals for prosecuting hateful acts. As of December 5th, pre-study of the Bill has begun.
The Bill remains at Second Reading in the House of Commons, and was last debated on September 23.
On July 4th, the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer released a Legislative Costing Note titled The Online Harms Act: Establishment of a Digital Safety Commission, Ombudsperson and Office. You can read it here.
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The Youth Assembly on Digital Rights and Safety brought Canadian youth together from across the country to shape recommendations focused on improving online safety and enhancing online experiences for young people, resulting in a youth-led recommendations report.
The U.S. Surgeon General issues an advisory describing current evidence on the impacts of social media on the mental health of children and adolescents. It notes that we cannot conclude social media is sufficiently safe for children and adolescents and provides immediate steps we can take to mitigate the risk of harm.
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Following the Government’s invitation for consultation and feedback on its proposed approach to address harmful content, the Canadian Department of Heritage releases an overview report of the feedback received.
Respondents oppose the government’s proposal, including website blocking provisions, which they underline would create a chilling effect on speech and pose a real threat to an open and safe internet. Platforms would be inclined to take down all questionable content rather than risk being blocked.
Respondents identified several overarching concerns about the freedom of expression, privacy rights, and the proposal's impact on certain marginalized groups.
As a result, the government substantively reverses course on its initial proposal, focused narrowly on content regulation, and shifts to platform business models, product design and transparency.
The Canadian Department of Heritage and its Digital Citizen Initiative convene an Expert Advisory Group on Online Safety designed to provide the Minister with best practices in designing legislative and regulatory frameworks to address harmful content online and incorporate feedback from the 2021 national consultation.
Canadian Commission on Democratic Expression releases a report focused on various policies debated worldwide to make online systems more transparent and accountable to the public interest.
The citizens’ assembly releases its second report on recommendations to strengthen Canada’s response to online disinformation.
The citizens’ assembly releases its final report on democratic expression with recommendations for reducing online harms and safeguarding human rights in Canada.
Canadian Expert Advisory Group concludes its meetings by recommending a duty-of-care approach to regulating online harms.
The Minister of Canadian Heritage conducts 19 virtual and in-person roundtables nationwide on crucial legislative and regulatory framework elements on online safety.
The Government collects participant feedback at the roundtables in the "What We Heard Report," outlining critical areas of online safety.
The Canadian Department of Heritage uses information collected during the roundtables to develop policy and legislation, collaborating with the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada to table legislation protecting children, marginalized communities and Canadians online as soon as possible.
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The CCDE publishes the first of its three annual reports detailing a six-step program to reduce online hate and other harms.
The 2020 Citizens Assembly issues and presents a public report with recommendations to strengthen Canada’s response to new digital technology and reduce online harms to the CCDE, the Federal Heritage Minister, and researchers.
The Canadian Government publishes its proposal to address harmful content online for consultation and feedback. Two documents are presented for consultation:
a discussion guide that summarized and outlined an overall approach and;
a technical paper that summarized drafting instructions that could inform legislation.
Frances Haugen, then Facebook executive turned Meta whistleblower, reveals internal documents (1, 2) exposing that platforms are aware of the harmful and adverse impacts their products have on adolescent users’ mental health.
During the election cycle, the Liberals commit to enacting legislation addressing online safety within 100 days of its mandate if re-elected.
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The Canadian Commission on Democratic Expression (CCDE), partly funded by the Canadian Government, establishes a three-year mandate focused on understanding, anticipating, and responding to the effects of new digital technologies on public life and Canadian democracy.
As part of The CCDE, a set of Citizens’ Assemblies composed of 42 randomly selected and representative residents from across Canada is convened to learn about issues, generate potential solutions, and provide recommendations to the Commission, the federal government, and the Canadian public.
Citizens’ Assembly begins meeting between September and December 2020. Their recommendations aim to:
Strengthen oversight and accountability for digital platforms,
Enhance international regulatory cooperation and enforcement, reduce misinformation and empower users;
establish new digital rights;
ensure user safety; accountability and awareness; and
Support independent journalism and Canadian content.