Liberals begin consultations to reintroduce online censorship legislation

The Liberals are once again attempting to pass their controversial censorship bill, launching new “consultations” after multiple failed efforts to regulate online content.

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The Liberals are once again attempting to pass their controversial censorship bill, launching new “consultations” after multiple failed efforts to regulate online content.

Minister of Justice Sean Fraser told the Senate during question period that the new Online Harms legislation won’t be a “copy and paste” of its previous two failed bills, first introduced under the Trudeau government in 2021.

“There is a consultation process that is now underway,” Fraser said Wednesday, adding that the Department of Canadian Heritage has been tasked with making the necessary “reforms.”

The government’s previous attempts to regulate the internet have been thwarted by significant pushback from the general public, and online content creators in particular.

Fraser’s comments were in response to Senator Kristopher Wells, who said Canada still had “much work to do in combating hate, in particular online.”

“In the previous Parliament the government tabled comprehensive legislation to combat online harms including hate speech through the creation of a new Digital Safety Commission,” said Wells, a proponent of online regulation.

“Does the government remain committed to reintroducing legislation to combat online harms including the growing radicalization and proliferation of hate on the internet and through social media?”

While it may not be a “a cut and paste” framework, Fraser responded that Canadians should expect the Carney government to “take action” to address many of the same issues from the previous proposed legislation.

The Liberals were forced to split their controversial Online Harms Act into two separate bills last year following criticism from various legal experts.

Bill C-63 proposed to regulate legal internet content deemed “likely to foment detestation or vilification of an individual or group” with the Canadian Human Rights Commission mandated to investigate complaints. However, it never passed second reading in the House of Commons.

Meanwhile, Bill C-36 had proposed to appoint a chief censor who would be authorized to block websites deemed hurtful, but the proposed legislation lapsed as a result of the 2021 election.

Fraser announced plans to table new “hate” legislation back in September, telling reporters, “we expect to have potentially several pieces of legislation during this fall sitting.”

“The first that we intend to introduce will make good on the campaign commitments that we’ve put forward with respect to obstruction, intimidation of those attending religious institutions or buildings,” he said. “We intend to take it a step further to address hate more broadly in our communities.”

However, civil rights advocacy groups have been outspoken about the dangers of such legislation.

The Democracy Fund previously warned about a potential online censorship bill from the Liberals after Fraser confirmed he hoped to introduce parts of the Online Harms Act, Bill C-63.

“While addressing legitimate concerns surrounding child exploitation and terrorism, the Bill added provisions to the Criminal Code for various speech crimes, making it a criminal offence to publish ill-defined ‘harmful content,’” the TDF said at the time.

The organization warned that such a bill could lead to “mass surveillance and censorship.”