Achi news desk-
Fewer than half of Canadians believe the federal government’s plan to regulate social media sites will make platforms safer, a new survey suggests.
Polling firm Leger recently asked Canadians about the Liberal government’s proposed Harm Online Act, which includes a series of measures meant to make social media platforms safer, especially for children.
Half of respondents said they were wary of the government’s ability to protect freedom of speech, and a majority said they supported the controversial proposal to introduce tougher sentences for hate speech offences.
Introduced by Justice Minister Arif Virani, the proposed legislation would create a new digital security commission to regulate social media companies and establish an ombudsman to hear complaints from Canadians. The law would also require companies to create security plans to mitigate exposure to harmful content.
The bill targets seven types of online content that it defines as harmful, ranging from terrorist material to content that encourages a minor to commit self-harm.
The legislation outlines that platforms will have 24 hours to remove sexual content, such as personal images shared without consent and child sexual abuse images, once it has been flagged.
The regulator would have the power to levy multi-million dollar fines against platforms that do not comply with the rules.
Leger surveyed 1,527 Canadians about the proposed measures between March 8 and 10. Online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they are not considered truly random samples.
Breaking news from Canada and around the world sent to your email, as it happens.
Breaking news from Canada and around the world sent to your email, as it happens.
Almost 70 per cent of respondents said they supported the government’s overall plan to regulate online content, while 25 per cent said they disagreed with the move.
But only 41 per cent of respondents said they believed the legislation would actually create safer online platforms, including making it easier to remove sexually abusive images. A further 32 per cent said they do not think that will be the outcome.
When asked if they trust the federal government to regulate online content in a way that protects individual freedom of speech, only a small minority – 10 percent – said they “completely trust” the government.
Another 33 percent answered that they “trust the government somewhat,” while 27 percent said they “don’t trust it at all” and 23 percent said they “hardly trust” the government i protect freedom of speech.
About 20 percent of those polled said they trusted the federal Conservatives most to regulate substance, with 17 percent of respondents choosing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals and just 13 percent choosing the Democrats New federal.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has been a staunch critic of the government’s plan to regulate the online space, including previous laws aimed at regulating streaming platforms and forcing big tech companies to compensate news agencies.
When it comes to the online harm legislation, Poilievre has scaled back his criticism significantly, saying he believes children should be protected from online dangers by the police and courts and not “pushed away to a new bureaucracy.”
Critics of the legislation have focused much of their attention on the proposal to toughen sentences for those convicted of hate propaganda crimes, increasing the penalty to five years behind bars instead of the current two.
It also seeks to give judges the option to sentence individuals to life in prison if they are found guilty of advocating genocide – a measure the Canadian Civil Liberties Association said could risk free speech and disrespect sentencing principles of proportionality.
Virani and Justice Department officials have defended that proposal, saying it would only apply to the most extreme circumstances and underlining that judges have discretion in sentencing.
Seventy-two percent of survey respondents said they agreed with the tougher penalties, while only 15 percent said they disagreed and 13 percent said they didn’t know.
The majority of respondents also said they support the government’s proposal to restore a section of the Canadian Human Rights Act that would allow individuals or groups to submit complaints about online hate speech.
Critics have warned that reintroducing a version of the section that was removed when Stephen Harper’s former Conservative government was in power could lead to a flood of false claims and create a chilling effect on speech.
Justice Department officials have tried to push back against such concerns, saying that speech portraying a group as “inherently violent” or “inhumane” would have to be examined by a human rights tribunal . The bill would allow the tribunal to order content taken down or award up to $50,000 in damages to a victim.
& copy 2024 The Canadian Press
