In a bid to regulate and remove harmful online content, the Canadian government has introduced a new law that will hold major tech companies accountable.
What Happened: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the Online Harms Act on Monday, which will require platforms to actively regulate and remove harmful content, including material that bullies or sexually victimized children, or incites extremism, violence, or hatred, reported Bloomberg.
The law will apply to companies offering social media platforms, live-streamed video, and user-uploaded adult content, provided they meet a certain user threshold. Major firms like ByteDance-owned TikTok, Elon Musk's X Corp., Meta Platforms Inc. META, and Alphabet Inc.’s GOOG GOOGL YouTube are expected to be affected.
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Additionally, the legislation will establish a regulatory body, the Digital Safety Commission, to enforce rules, receive complaints, and order content removal. An independent digital safety ombudsperson will also be appointed to support and advocate for users.
The bill will also create a new standalone hate crime offense, which could lead to penalties of up to life in prison. It will also set up a process for people to file complaints about online speech to the Canadian Human Rights Commission, which could order the user to remove the content and compensate victims up to C$20,000 (or $14,809).
Why It Matters: The Canadian government’s move to hold tech giants accountable for harmful online content comes in the wake of increasing global scrutiny of big tech’s role in online safety.
However, Canada’s introduction of online safety legislation lags behind that of jurisdictions such as the U.K., EU, and Australia. For instance, The EU brought the Digital Services Act as a regulatory medium to protect users from child pornographers and other unsavory and illegal activity to make the internet a safer place.
Meanwhile, in the U.S., tech leaders faced a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing earlier this month on children’s safety online, with lawmakers expressing frustration over the industry’s self-policing failures. Despite the intense scrutiny, the hearing resulted in little concrete progress.
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