Feds Planning New Commission to Regulate ‘Harmful’ Social Media Content

The national headquarters of the Department of Canadian Heritage, at Les Terrasses de la Chaudiere, in Gatineau, Quebec, on Aug. 21, 2021. (meunierd/shutterstock)

The federal government says it is designing a new “regulatory structure” that could include a commission tasked with enforcing social media platforms to specifically target “harmful content” online.

Cabinet said in its response to a recommendation tabled last month by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs that it is exploring legislative changes that would seek to bring social media platforms under tighter federal regulation, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.

The committee recommended in November 2022 that Ottawa force online platforms to “collect and make data publicly available about instances of harassment and promoting violence against journalists and other human rights defenders.”

Cabinet said in a document detailing the government’s response that it agrees with the recommendations before adding that it is already working on “a new legislative and regulatory framework for online services” that could include the creation of a “Digital Safety Commission.”

The new commission would be tasked with enforcing the proposed online regulations, which include new rules that would compel online services to “identify, assess, and mitigate risks on their platforms through their own internal systems and processes.”

Cabinet also said that the new regulatory framework would likely include the use of metrics to monitor if online platforms are meeting obligations, adding that the metrics could be measured by the federal government through regular reports and audits.

Cabinet said it has not yet set a timeline for introducing the legislation, but added that the Heritage Department and other federal offices are currently working on drafting it.

The commission could be given “strong audit and enforcement powers” to ensure that online platforms follow the regulations, the document said.

It refers to the commission’s authority as “broad powers” that it could use to compel platforms to release relevant information and data—such as instances of cyber harassment and violence by users on their services—under the threat of “monetary penalties for non-compliance.”

Internet Regulation

Details about the proposed commission come about a year after Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez formed a panel of 12 experts to hold discussions and give recommendations to the government about drafting an internet regulation bill.

The panel held 10 sessions from April to June 2022 and gave cabinet a number of recommendations, including a call to tackle “disinformation” while also acknowledging the difficulty of defining it in legislation.

The Liberal government previously introduced legislation aimed at combating online hate speech, but it lapsed when a snap election was called in the fall of 2021.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in November 2022 that his government still intends on introducing and passing similar legislation.

“While always ensuring and defending free speech, we must make it clear that it cannot be OK to bully and attack people online,” he said on Nov. 14, adding that governments and “especially big technology companies” hold a responsibility to “address online harassment and violence to ensure trust in technology.”

The Liberal government’s stated intention to broaden regulation over online platforms also comes shortly after the Commons passed Bill C-11—which will give the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) regulating authority over streaming platforms like Netflix and Spotify.

The federal Conservatives have bemoaned the pending legislation, saying it will give the CRTC power to censor what Canadians can view online, while the Liberal government maintains it will give Canadian creators a “level playing field” with American competitors.

MPs voted to reject a number of the Senate’s proposed amendments to the bill, thus it must pass another vote by senators before it can be passed into law.

Noé Chartier contributed to this report.