Canada's 'Online Harms' Bill Would Be an Assault On Free Speech, Civil Liberties Groups Say

A Toronto Sun columnist writes that two Canadian civil liberties groups are 'sounding alarms' about the proposed new Online Harms Act (C-63):

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) and the Canadian Constitution Foundation (CCF) say while the proposed legislation contains legitimate measures to protect children from online sexual abuse, cyber-bulling and self-harm, and to combat the spread of so-called 'revenge porn,' its provisions to prevent the expression of hate are draconian, vaguely worded and an attack on free speech... '[D]on't be fooled,' said CCF executive director Joanna Baron. 'Most of the bill is aimed at restricting freedom of expression. This heavy-handed bill needs to be severely pared down to comply with the constitution.'

Both the CCLA and CCF warn the bill could lead to life imprisonment for someone convicted of 'incitement to genocide' — a vague term only broadly defined in the bill — and up to five years in prison for other vaguely defined hate speech crimes. The legislation, for example, defines illegal hate speech as expressing 'detestation or vilification of an individual or group of individuals,' while legally protected speech, 'expresses dislike or disdain, or... discredits, humiliates, hurts or offends.' The problem, critics warn, will be determining in advance which is which, with the inevitable result that people and organizations will self-censor themselves because of fear of being prosecuted criminally, or fined civilly, for what is actually legal speech.

'Both the CCLA and the CCF say the proposed legislation, known as Bill C-63, will require major amendments before becoming law to pass constitutional muster,' according to the columnist.
Some specific complains:

The CCF argues that the Bill 'would allow judges to put prior restraints on people who they believe on reasonable grounds may commit speech crimes in the future.'

The CCLA adds that the proposed bill also grants authorities 'sweeping new search powers of electronic data, with no warrant requirement,' according to the Toronto Sun, and also warns about the creation of a government-appointed 'digital safety commission' given 'vast authority' and 'sweeping powers' to 'interpret the law, make up new rules, enforce them, and then serve as judge, jury, and executioner.'

And in addition, the CCF points out under the proposed rules the Canadian Human Rights Commission 'could order fines of up to $50,000, and awards of up to $20,000 paid to complainants, who in some cases would be anonymous.'
'Findings would be based on a mere 'balance of probabilities' standard rather than the criminal standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt... The mere threat of human rights complaints will chill large amounts of protected speech.'

Thanks to long-time Slashdot reader sinij for sharing the article.

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