The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms is urging Parliament to reject the federal government's proposed Safe Social Media Act, arguing the legislation would require Canadians to verify their identities to use social media while giving sweeping new powers to regulate online speech and artificial intelligence conversations.The Calgary-based constitutional advocacy organization released a report claiming Bill C-34 goes far beyond protecting children online and instead creates what it describes as a broad surveillance and censorship regime.The report, The Safe Social Media Act: A Threat to Our Privacy and Freedom of Expression, was written by former Western Standard Opinion Editor Nigel Hannaford."This is not a narrow child protection bill," Justice Centre president John Carpay said in a statement."It is a population-wide identity screen, a speech code enforced by fines measured in millions, and a new commission that will write the real rules after Parliament has left the room."According to the report, effective age verification requirements would likely require all users — including adults — to prove their identity using government-issued identification, biometric information or banking credentials before accessing social media platforms.The Justice Centre argues such measures would undermine Canadians' privacy rights by forcing millions of users to surrender personal information.The report also criticizes the legislation for replacing parental decision-making with what it describes as a federal one-size-fits-all approach to protecting children online.Another concern raised by the organization is the creation of a new Digital Safety Commission, which would be responsible for interpreting and enforcing provisions dealing with harmful online content.The report argues that platforms could face fines of up to $10 million or 3% of global revenue if they fail to adequately address content deemed to promote hatred, while leaving key definitions to regulators after the legislation is passed..The Justice Centre also warns that regulated artificial intelligence chatbots could be required to monitor conversations involving self-harm or serious violence and, in some cases, refer users to crisis services or notify police.According to the report, that could encourage companies to broadly scan private conversations, discouraging users from speaking openly online.The organization further argues that many of the legislation's most significant details are not contained in the bill itself.It estimates roughly 50 major policy decisions — including which online platforms are covered, how age verification will work and what standards companies must meet — would be determined later through cabinet regulations and decisions made by the Digital Safety Commission.The Justice Centre is calling on Parliament to reject Bill C-34 in its current form and instead focus on enforcing existing Criminal Code provisions against online crime, limiting robust age verification to dedicated pornography websites and providing parents with better tools to protect children online."If the price of using the internet is proving your identity to the state and watching your words around a government commission, that is not a child protection measure as much as a surveillance regime with a friendly slogan," Carpay said.
