Justice minister says Online Harms Act leaves room for age-appropriate design options
The federal justice minister said Wednesday the government's online harms bill includes measures to protect children using age-appropriate web design.
Arif Virani is touting that bill as a better solution to concerns about children accessing sexually explicit material online, than a Senate bill currently making its way through the debate process.
That bill seeks to require websites to verify users' ages and keep minors from accessing "sexually explicit material."
Privacy experts have criticized the Senate legislation for posing a risk to Canadians' personal information, which they would have to provide to access material like pornography.
Virani said uploading a piece of government-issued to view content on a website "could open up a whole host of economic and fraudulent crimes" by "nefarious actors that operate abroad."
Others, including federal privacy commissioner Philippe Dufresne, have called for the bill's scope to be narrowed to focus on sites whose main purpose is to provide "sexually explicit material" for commercial reasons.
He told a House of Commons committee this week that, as written, the bill raises questions about what will be captured.
Experts warn the Senate bill could mandate social media platforms and streaming services like Netflix to verify the age of their users, which could lead companies to block access rather than risk the liability.
Independent Sen. Julie Miville-Dechêne, who authored the bill, says it is needed to shield minors from viewing graphic and violent sexual material online, which she says is detrimental to their development in many ways.
Virani said on Wednesday that his online harms bill, tabled in February, contains a provision requiring companies to protect children through using age-appropriate design features, which he says "can mean different things."
"The notion of ensuring that there is some sort of age-appropriate design is critical. That's why it's in the legislation," he said.
"That's why we need that legislation voted on and into committee so we can hear some good suggestions."
Virani's bill is not without its own critics however.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre rises during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and his caucus criticize a proposal in the bill which creates a new regulator to police how companies are reducing the exposure to harm online, particularly for children.
Poilievre routinely accuses Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of trying to censor opinions he doesn't like, saying that Conservatives would rather try to better protect children online through targeting criminals, "instead of creating more bureaucracy."
The bill would compel social-media platforms to outline how they plan to reduce risk and require them to promptly remove certain content, including child sex-abuse images and intimate images shared without consent.
The legislation pushes companies to act under threat of fines and asks that they publish safety plans detailing how they are addressing online harms.
The bill also seeks to usher in stiffer punishments for hate-related Criminal Code offences. Critics including civil-society advocates have taken aim at those changes, saying the threat of tougher measures could chill free speech.
Virani and justice officials have defended the harsher penalties by saying they would only be used in the most extreme examples.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 29, 2024
IN DEPTH
Jagmeet Singh pulls NDP out of deal with Trudeau Liberals, takes aim at Poilievre Conservatives
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has pulled his party out of the supply-and-confidence agreement that had been helping keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority Liberals in power.
'Not the result we wanted': Trudeau responds after surprise Conservative byelection win in Liberal stronghold
Conservative candidate Don Stewart winning the closely-watched Toronto-St. Paul's federal byelection, and delivering a stunning upset to Justin Trudeau's candidate Leslie Church in the long-time Liberal riding, has sent political shockwaves through both parties.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Conservatives call on Elon Musk to step in after Liberals provide loan to Ottawa-based satellite operator
A $2.14-billion federal loan for an Ottawa-based satellite operator has Canadian politicians arguing about whether American billionaire Elon Musk poses a national security risk.
Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porsche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.
Myths busted and lessons learned: John Vennavally-Rao on his surgery to reverse his ostomy
Twenty-seven year Â鶹ӰÊÓ reporter and anchor John Vennavally-Rao shares his story of what it was like to have an ostomy bag as part of his health-care battle. 'I’m grateful for what it did to extend my life,' he writes in a personal column for CTVNews.ca.
A northern Ontario man is facing a $12,000 fine after illegally shooting a moose near the Batchawan River.
Unusual flippered feet are making their way into the Saint Lawrence River this weekend. Led by underwater explorer and filmmaker Nathalie Lasselin, volunteer divers are combing the riverbed near Beauharnois in Montérégie to remove hundreds of tires that have been polluting the aquatic environment for decades.
Kamala Harris accepts CNN debate invitation for Oct. 23, challenging Trump to another showdown
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday accepted an invitation from CNN to debate former President Donald Trump on October 23, challenging her rival to another engagement on a public stage in the final weeks of the campaign.
Kids are inhaling 'Galaxy Gas' to get high. Here’s what parents should know
For some young people, a popular method for getting a quick high is by misusing laughing gas — and lately, that’s in the form of nitrous oxide from products sold by the company Galaxy Gas.
A man is facing numerous drug trafficking charges after Dufferin OPP seized a large assortment of drugs and weapons in Orangeville earlier this week.
A sea lion swam free after a rescue team disentangled it near Vancouver Island earlier this week.
Local Spotlight
Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.
Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.
An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.
They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.
A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.
Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.
The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.
It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.