Liberals to work with experts on revision of ‘fundamentally flawed’ online harms bill after criticism – National Post

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The government said Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez would 'propose a revised framework as soon as possible'

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The Liberal government says it heard the criticism that its proposed online harms bill would infringe privacy and charter rights, and will work with experts to revise the legislation.

In a consultation the government held last year, respondents raised concerns around the complexity of this issue and warned about unintended consequences if a thoughtful approach is not taken, Canadian Heritage said in a press release Thursday morning.

Experts and academics, Google , civil liberties groups and even research librarians took that draft legislation to task, warning the government the plan would result in the blocking of legitimate content and lead to censorship, violating Canadians constitutional and privacy rights.

University of Ottawas CIPPIC, for instance, told the government that anything else than setting the fundamentally flawed proposal aside would jeopardize Canadas claim to being a leader in advancing free expression, a free and open internet, and the human rights upon which our democratic society has been built.

The bill aimed to target online posts in five categories terrorist content, content that incites violence, hate speech, intimate images shared non-consensually, and child sexual exploitation content. Platforms would have been required to proactively monitor posts and take down illegal content within 24 hours of it being flagged, with a new regulator called the Digital Safety Commissioner of Canada in charge of enforcement.

The release said that in the coming weeks, the department would engage a group of experts whose mandate will be to collaborate with stakeholders and Canadians, in order to provide the Government with advice on how to adjust the proposal.

The announcement Thursday means the Liberals wont table the legislation within the first 100 days of Parliaments return, as promised in last years federal election. The government said Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez would propose a revised framework as soon as possible.

The release said the Liberal government is committed to getting this right and to doing so as quickly as possible.

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Liberals to work with experts on revision of 'fundamentally flawed' online harms bill after criticism - National Post