As if giving control over large swaths of the internet to the mandarins at the CRTC and reinstating a law that put a chill on free speech in this country for years were not enough, at the end of July, the Liberals opened consultations on a proposed online harms bill that would create a giant new government bureaucracy to monitor and police online expression.
The sites would be required to remove the offending material within 24 hours, which would act as an incentive for platforms to abide by any requests that come along, rather than consider their merits. And the commissioner would have the power to send inspectors into workplaces (and even private residences if they obtain a warrant), to search for documents, software and other information, which could violate Canadians’ right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure.
The Liberals also propose to create new bodies to adjudicate disputes, with the power to hold hearings behind closed doors. As law Prof. Michael Geist described it, the plans “pick up where Bill C-10 left off, treating freedom of expression as a danger to be constrained through regulations and the creation of a bureaucratic super-structure that includes a new digital safety commission, digital tribunal to rule on content removal and social media regulation advisory board.”
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