Cabinet has shelved a long-threatened bill to regulate truth and disinformation on the internet, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. “The government heard from Canadians and stakeholders that while false and misleading information online can carry significant consequences, creating legislation and policies that restrict or otherwise limit speech based on the veracity of information would undermine freedom of expression to an unacceptable degree,” said Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc in a letter to the House of Commons Ethics Committee (CEC). The letter was prompted by the CEC recommending cabinet “hold online platforms accountable for publishing false or misleading information.” LeBlanc said a bill was unnecessary. “Legislation is not the only tool in the government’s toolbox to combat false or misleading information,” said LeBlanc. While certain people wanted a bill, he said internet literacy programs appeared sufficient. Cabinet tabled a technical paper in 2021 proposing it appoint a chief internet censor called the digital safety commissioner to police content moderation on the internet under threat of $25 million fines. Former heritage minister Steven Guilbeault said at a House of Commons Heritage Committee meeting in 2021 illegal content should include posts disparaging government institutions. Guilbeault said every Canadian has “a responsibility, a duty to ensure that we protect our institutions and that the last thing we should try to do is to somehow diminish them just in the hope we can score points.” “I think there are other ways we can score political points,” he said. “Of course, we’re political adversaries, I understand that, but certainly not at the expense of our institutions.”No digital safety bill was ever introduced. A majority of 9,218 petitioners to Canadian Heritage opposed the measure as unconstitutional. “Many cautioned against opening categories of harmful content to speech that, although harmful, would nevertheless be lawful,” said Canadian Heritage. Canadian Heritage requested a larger budget to increase its capacity for monitoring and addressing internet disinformation in October. READ MORE: Trudeau gov’t fears political ‘disinformation’ onlineIt said it needed millions of dollars to watch people online who share wrong political beliefs. At the moment, it said the scale and scope of disinformation was “expanding along with potential for associated harms.”
