Members of minority groups fear that the Internet Hate Bill will place limits on their own freedom and could turn them into targets for the police.
These fears were raised during government consultations on this subject.
Documents, obtained through the Access to Information Act, contain warnings that the bill harms marginalized groups. For example, sex workers fear that the law will allow their website to be shut down, which would threaten their safety and could even lead to their arrest.
Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez has commissioned a group of experts to study the subject, “which constitutes the next step in the development of a legislative measure aimed at combating harmful content online”, said indicated the government in March.
If passed, the law would give increased powers to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service to obtain subscriber information from service providers. These companies will have to report certain messages to the police and security services.
The government wants to update Bill C-36, which it introduced at the end of the last Parliament. However, the legislation died on the order paper when a general election was called.
He had launched public consultations just before the start of the election campaign. The introduction of an anti-hate bill remains a priority, he maintains.
The bill seeks to eliminate hate speech against women, racial groups, religious minorities and LGBTQ Canadians by blocking certain websites and requiring platforms to remove hateful content.
Some members of these groups point out that the Internet is one of the few platforms where freedom of speech really exists for them. According to them, the bill could interfere with their rights.
Darryl Carmichael of the University of Calgary Law School said in his remarks that the bill could harm racial or marginalized groups, especially if certain messages are misinterpreted as offensive.
“Black Lives Matter messages were falsely labeled as hateful and had been removed,” he recalled. As a result, the voices of the groups we want to protect will be even more isolated. »
Indigenous people fear that the police will take advantage of the increased powers to target their speeches and demonstrations.
The National Association of Friendship Centres, a national network of Indigenous civil society community centers providing programs, services and support to urban Indigenous people, notes that “community and resistance activities led by Indigenous have thrived online”. Protests against resource exploitation depend on social media, as these “represent an important part of communication strategies”.
“These acts of resistance can easily be described as anti-government protests or indigenous cyberterrorism,” reads his intervention.
The organization warns that government agencies could use the bill as a weapon to identify anti-government protesters.
Experts say algorithms might choose a few keywords, without knowing the context or nuances of a post on social media. These remarks would then be misinterpreted and would provoke a police intervention.
Professor Michael Geist, Canada Research Chair in Internet and Electronic Commerce Law, says that “automated notices from artificial intelligence can put these groups at risk.”
According to him, the criticisms highlighted during the consultation must lead the government to realize that it has adopted the wrong approach.
Laura Scaffidi, a spokeswoman for Minister Rodriguez said the government was “taking seriously what people told it during the consultation”. This is why a committee of experts has been appointed on this subject.
“We know this is an important issue for Canadians,” she said. We will take the time to do things right. »