Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill during Question Period, on Sept. 18, 2023.There is one message Canada’s major political leaders want to send you about their opponent’s internet policies: Be afraid.
He asserted that Mr. Trudeau will criminalize any speech of which he disapproves, and then went on to make random claims of coming censorship. . And yes, it is possible that it will go too far in some respects. But certainly not in the weird ways Mr. Poilievre suggests. A serious critique might actually be useful.
So far, the Liberal government has been poor at thinking through online regulation. They have treated it more as a political promise than a complex societal issue. The bill, proposed by Senator Julie Miville-Dechêne, has been supported by the Conservatives, Bloc Québécois, NDP and some Liberal MPs –The bill does not define what age-verification technology would be used, and critics warn the options, including sending personal information to porn sites or some sort of third-party digital ID, create substantial privacy and security risks.