“Harms posed by digital platforms” | Experts urge Trudeau government to protect children

(Ottawa) A panel of experts, convened by the government last year to advise on a new law aimed at protecting children online, is now urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government to rush to introduce the law so expected, otherwise it risks putting even more Canadian children at risk.

The letter released Thursday calls on the federal government to urgently introduce legislation to address the “harms posed by digital platforms”, particularly behavior and content that may affect children.

“Our lack of governance has put Canadian children at greater risk than their counterparts in much of the democratic world,” it reads.

Pierre Trudel, professor at the faculty of law at the University of Montreal, and Emily Laidlaw, professor of law at the University of Calgary, are co-chairs of the government’s advisory group.

M^me Laidlaw, who helped draft the letter, says it’s “time to push” for the bill.

“Other democracies, including the United Kingdom, the European Union and Australia, have introduced and passed laws aimed at protecting their citizens online, with particular obligations to protect children,” we read in the letter.

“Some of these are second or third generation online safety laws, while Canada has not yet introduced its first federal online safety law. It is urgent that Canada act to protect the security and fundamental rights of Canadians. »

The letter, signed Thursday morning by more than 50 experts and advocates, says two years of federal consultations have produced a “broad consensus” that platforms should be held accountable for their services and any resulting harm.

Canadian law should impose a duty on online platforms to ensure they work to protect their users from harm and create a regulatory body “with the power to investigate and audit platforms, impose corrective measures and to impose fines,” the letter states.

The letter also calls for more transparency, as well as verification tools to ensure companies are complying with requirements.

“We certainly won’t all agree on the details of the bill, but it is time for an urgent public debate on it. »

No particular incident motivated the letter, assured M^me Laidlaw — only the “slow march of time” since the momentum of several years ago, when the government launched its first round of consultations on what the legislation should look like.

Then, she said, “everything calmed down.”

Calls for action have grown as the war between Israel and Hamas leads to more anti-Semitism and Islamophobia online, and as police promote online safety after a 12-year-old boy from the British Columbia, a victim of online sextortion, took her own life last month.

Earlier this week, Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said the incident was a “tragic reminder” of the risks posed by online harm, particularly for vulnerable people.

One of the signatories to the letter is Carol Todd, mother of Amanda Todd, whose teenage daughter committed suicide more than a decade ago after posting a video online detailing how she was blackmailed by the from an online predator.

Aydin Coban, a Dutch national, was convicted of extortion, harassment, possession of child pornography and communicating with a young person with intent to commit a sexual offence. He was sentenced by a British Columbia court to 13 years in prison, but is awaiting a decision on how he will serve that sentence in the Netherlands.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau fired back Wednesday when New Democratic Party (NDP) Leader Jagmeet Singh questioned him in the House of Commons about why he had not yet tabled the bill.

Mr. Trudeau said his government remained “serious” about advancing measures to protect against online harm.

Justice Minister Arif Virani pledged to introduce a bill as soon as possible, but stressed that it was difficult to determine how to regulate online platforms.