Canada has introduced a draft legislation that will force large online platforms to quickly remove harmful content, as reported by Reuters on February 26. The bill, known as the Online Harms Act, was proposed by the Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to combat online hate and safeguard children from online predators. Under the proposed rules, major social media entities, such as X, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok, must remove content that sexually victimizes a child and intimate content communicated without consent within 24 hours, whilst undergoing an oversight and review process. Additionally, the new rules ask these platforms to provide clear and accessible ways to flag harmful content and block users. They are also asked to implement mitigation strategies to reduce children’s exposure to harmful content, such as material that bullies children or incites extremism, violence, or hatred.

The Online Harms Act is designed to set a baseline standard for ensuring the online safety of young people while maintaining the principles of freedom of expression. It specified that online platforms must take responsibility for the design choices that lead to the dissemination and amplification of harmful content. According to the proposed rules, companies found breaching the law could face fines of up to 6% of their gross global revenues. Furthermore, the bill involves the creation of a regulatory agency named the Digital Safety Commission, which will enforce rules, receive complaints, and issue orders for the removal of harmful content.

Sources:

https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/draft-canada-law-would-force-social-media-companies-quickly-remove-harmful-2024-02-26/

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-02-26/trudeau-to-force-big-tech-to-police-harmful-online-content

https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/news/2024/02/government-of-canada-introduces-legislation-to-combat-harmful-content-online-including-the-sexual-exploitation-of-children.html

https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/government-of-canada-introduces-legislation-to-combat-harmful-content-online-including-the-sexual-exploitation-of-children-887108403.html