After years of battles over Bills C-11 and C-18, few Canadians will have the appetite for yet another troubling Internet bill. But given a bill that envisions government-backed censorship, mandates age verification to use search engines or social media sites, and creates a framework for court-ordered website blocking, there is a need to pay attention. Bill S-210, or the Protecting Young Persons from Exposure to Pornography Act, was passed by the Senate in April after Senators were reluctant to reject a bill framed as protecting children from online harm. The same scenario appears to be playing out in the House of Commons, where yesterday a majority of the House voted for the bill at second reading, sending it to the Public Safety committee for review. The bill, which is the brainchild of Senator Julie Miville-Duchêne, is not a government bill. In fact, government ministers voted against it. Instead, the bill is backed by the Conservatives, Bloc and NDP with a smattering of votes from backbench Liberal MPs. Canadians can be forgiven for being confused that after months of championing Internet freedoms, raising fears of censorship, and expressing concern about CRTC overregulation of the Internet, Conservative MPs were quick to call out those who opposed the bill (the House sponsor is Conservative MP Karen Vecchio).
  • kreynen
    10•6 months ago

    I think the best way to deal with the issue includes education, digital skills, and parental oversight of Internet use including the use of personal filters or blocking tools if desired.

    As a someone who works in technology and is a parent to 2 kids < 10, I’m already aware of what a niave statement that is.

    I keep my kids’ iPad locked down and have a router with some basic parental control features, but as the number devices in our lives that are able to browse the web increases along with the number of wireless networks my kids can connect to, trying to police this myself is futile.

    And I’m not even concerned about them occasionally seeing “normal” porn. As a former Reddit user, I’ve seen some things I wish I hadn’t. Things I’m not able to fully process as an adult.

    I can handle the conversation about…

    “you know how people drive in Fast and Furious isn’t how people drive in real life? That’s what porn sex is like compared to the sex you are going to have.”

    I cannot explain some of the darker corners of Reddit.

    If you applied Geist’s logic to alcohol, it would be up to parents to keep kids from going to liquor stores. Sure I can stop my kids from drinking the alcohol I have in my own home, but I rely on laws to make it very difficult for them to do something as a community we’ve agreed they aren’t mature enough to make good decisions about.

    Why can’t we apply the same policies on to internet services?

    • @[email protected]English
      21•6 months ago

      The difference is that the only way of truly verifying if you are an adult on the internet is extremely privacy-invading. It’s not like at the liquor store where a clerk can just look at someone and know that they are too young to be there.

      • @[email protected]English
        5•6 months ago

        Exactly. Especially since the only way to prove it would be digital, allowing for a digital paper trail to be collected on each person in an area of their lives that is typically very private.

  • Treczoks
    5•6 months ago

    Easy solution to be clean with the law for international companies: Just geoblock Canada.