About the Online Harms Act
The purpose of the Act is to promote the online safety of Canadians. It is particularly concerned with regulating the risk that seven forms of harmful content pose to Canadians:
Intimate content communicated without consent
Content that sexually victimizes a child or revictimizes a survivor
Content that induces a child to harm themselves
Content used to bully a child
Content that foments hatred
Content that incites violence
Content that incites violent extremism or terrorism
New Positions and Offices
Digital Safety Commission of Canada
Mandate to administer and enforce the Act, ensure that operators of applicable social media services are transparent and accountable, and contribute to the development of standards for online safety.
Digital Safety Ombudsperson of Canada
Mandate to provide support to users of applicable social media services and advocate for the public interest in relation to online safety.
Digital Safety Office of Canada
Mandate to support the Digital Safety Commission of Canada and the Digital Safety Ombudsperson of Canada in the fulfillment of their mandates.
Responsibilities for Applicable Social Media Services
Duty to Act Responsibly
A duty to act responsibly in respect of the services that they operate, including by:
Implementing measures that are adequate to mitigate the risk that users will be exposed to harmful content on the services; and,
Submitting digital safety plans to the Digital Safety Commission of Canada.
Duty to Protect Children
A duty to protect children in respect of the services that they operate by integrating into the services design features that are provided for by regulations.
Duty to Make Certain Content Inaccessible
A duty, in certain circumstances, to make content that sexually victimizes a child or revictimized a survivor and intimate content communicated without consent inaccessible to persons in Canada.
Duty to Keep Record of Compliance
A duty to keep all records that are necessary to determine whether they are complying with their duties under that Act.
Access to Inventories and Electronic Data (Transparency)
Digital Safety Commission of Canada to accredit certain persons that conduct research or engage in education, advocacy or awareness activities that are related to the Act for the purposes of enabling those persons to have access to inventories of electronic data and to electronic data of the operators of social media services in respect of which that Act applies.
Other Provisions
Amendments to the Criminal Code to:
Define “hatred” for the purposes of the new offense and the hate propaganda offenses;
Create a hate crime offense for committing an offense under that Act or any other Act of Parliament that is motivated by hatred based on certain factors;
Create a recognizance to keep the peace relating to hate propaganda and hate crime offenses;
Increase the maximum sentences for hate propaganda offenses.
Amendments to the Canadian Human Rights Act to:
Provide that it is a discriminatory practice to communicate or cause to be communicated hate speech by means of the Internet or any other means of telecommunication in a context in which the hate speech is likely to foment detestation or vilification of an individual or group of individuals on the basis of a prohibited ground of discrimination
Re-instating an improved section 13 and defining hate speech as “content that expresses detestation or vilification of an individual or group of individuals on the basis of race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, family status, genetic characteristics, disability and conviction for an offence for which a pardon has been granted or in respect of which a record suspension has been ordered”
Enhancing the complaints process by allowing the Canadian Human Rights Commission to accept complaints alleging discriminatory practice; and,
Adding remedies to address communications of hate speech, including by authorizing the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal to inquire into such complaints
Amendments to an Act respecting the mandatory reporting of Internet child pornography by persons who provide and Internet service to:
Clarify the types of Internet services covered by that Act;
Simplify the mandatory notification process set out in section 3 by providing that all notifications be sent to a law enforcement body designated in the regulations;
Require that transmission data be provided with the mandatory notice in cases where the content is manifestly child pornography;
Extend the period of preservation of data related to an offence;
Extend the limitation period for the prosecution of an offence under that Act; and
Add certain regulation-making powers.