The Trudeau government will introduce new regulations to combat “offensive content and hate speech” on social media in 2021.
According to a document from the Department of Canadian Heritage obtained by Blacklock’s Reporter, the government promises new rules to scrub Facebook and Twitter of content it deems offensive.
“We intend a comprehensive approach with the tabling of a bill in early 2021 that will apply to the various platforms,” staff wrote in a briefing note.
“We are working to introduce regulations to reduce the spread of illegal content, including hate speech, in order to promote a safer and more inclusive online environment. We want to protect Canadians online.”
The Trudeau government has been promising some form of internet censorship since before the 2019 federal election. In 2020, the government began studying specific methods to combat hate speech online and proposed new restrictions for streaming services.
“Social media platforms such as Facebook or Twitter are increasingly central to participation in democratic, cultural and public life,” Heritage Canada wrote.
“However, social media platforms can also be used to threaten, intimidate, bully and harass people, or used to promote racist, anti-Semitic, Islamophobic, misogynist and homophobic views that target communities, put people’s safety and risk and undermine Canada’s social cohesion or democracy.”
In September, the Department of Justice was looking for “legal remedies” to fight offensive and unregulated speech online, which presumably includes punishments for offending individuals.
