A parliamentary committee is recommending that Canadians victimized by non-consensual and content posted to Pornhub and other sites should be able to get it removed immediately.
In a report today, the House of Commons ethics committee recommends that online platforms, such as the one owned by Montreal-based MindGeek, be held liable for failing to prevent material involving child sexual abuse, or other non-consensual images, from being uploaded.
It also recommends online platforms be liable for failing to ensure that material is deleted quickly, or else face financial penalties, and that measures be brought into place to verify that people depicted in pornographic content are at least 18 years old, and consented to its publication.
The committee also wants to see the federal government create a legal framework to require internet-service providers that host pornographic content to get more proactive about moderating content and enforcing rules, and be held legally accountable.
Conservative committee member Shannon Stubbs said the recommendations were made with “urgency, resolve and determined expectations” and the onus is now on the government to act.
In April, the Liberal government announced it would introduce legislation to create a new regulator that will ensure online platforms remove harmful content, including depictions of children and intimate images that are shared without consent.
