(Ottawa) Justin Trudeau launched a spontaneous attack on his main political rival on Thursday over a Senate pornography bill that the prime minister said could introduce digital identification for adults wishing to browse certain websites .
Trudeau accused Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of “spreading lies” about the Liberal government’s upcoming law targeting harmful content online – even as the Conservatives themselves support a bill in the Senate that would create online restrictions .
“Instead of committing to protecting our children through serious and responsible legislation, he instead proposes that adults give their personal information and ID to questionable websites, or create a digital ID to be able to browse the internet as they see fit,” Mr. Trudeau said after a press conference in Nova Scotia.
“This is something we oppose and disagree with. »
On Wednesday, Mr. Poilievre confirmed that his party supported a bill that would require porn sites to verify the age of users, and that a future Conservative government would legislate to this effect.
Bill S-210 was passed in the Senate in the spring and New Democrats, the Bloc Québécois and Conservative MPs voted to send it to a House of Commons committee for study, while a majority of Liberals voted against.
The bill tabled by Senator Julie Miville-Dechêne, member of the Independent Senators Group, does not specify how age would be verified.
Enforcement options include creating a government digital ID or requiring users to scan their face using a webcam so their approximate age can be determined – both methods that Conservatives say they disapprove.
Not a “partisan issue,” says Senator Miville-Dechêne
Senator Miville-Dechêne said in a statement Thursday that “verifying age to access online pornography is not a partisan issue” and noted that other countries have drafted such laws, including the France, the United Kingdom and the European Union.
In France, a digital certificate is being studied, while the European Union is preparing to deploy a personal digital wallet that each of its citizens can use online.
Mme Miville-Dechêne said “accredited third parties” would carry out age verification rather than the government or porn sites, and defended the fact that her bill does not specify how the law would be enforced.
“The approval of specific age verification methods will be done in the regulations, after consultations,” she stressed.
“This is the normal way of doing things and this is what other states have done: identifying appropriate age verification mechanisms is a technical matter, the technology is constantly evolving and it would not be appropriate to pass a bill which becomes obsolete after a few months. »
Still, privacy experts have expressed concerns about the potential impacts of using facial recognition technology or requiring users to hand over personal information to third-party sites.
But Conservatives – including Ontario MP Karen Vecchio, who is sponsoring the bill in the Commons – have not proposed any alternative methods for enforcing the future law.
Conservatives say they support the bill because children should not be able to freely access pornography online, the same way children cannot legally purchase pornography in person.
“Justin Trudeau is doing what he does best: deceiving and dividing Canadians, this time by misleading them about the effects of a bill that has the support of MPs from all parties, including members of his own Liberal caucus,” said Sebastian Skamski, a spokesperson for Mr. Poilievre, in a statement Thursday.
Trudeau’s “woke” agenda
Mr. Poilievre also criticized on Wednesday the bill on harmful online content that the Liberal government is expected to table in the coming weeks.
Mr. Poilievre said on Wednesday that the bill on harmful online content was part of “Justin Trudeau’s authoritarian ‘woke’ agenda” and constituted an “attack on freedom of expression.”
The bill, according to Mr. Trudeau, aims to protect children from sexual exploitation and bullying on the internet.
“We ensure the safety of children in the schoolyard. We keep children safe in our communities. We need to do a better job as a society to keep children safe online,” he said Thursday.
Mr. Trudeau argued that Mr. Poilievre’s partisan speech was “concerning” given that the Conservatives have not yet seen the bill and do not know what it contains.
“So I think this is yet another example of Pierre Poilievre being irresponsible and unserious and choosing to play politics instead of really focusing on what matters, which is how to ensure safety of our children. »