Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he doesn’t support the idea of “digital ID” or needing Canadians to give “their personal information to sketchy websites” amid questions about a controversial Senate bill to require age verification on porn websites.
He also accused Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of “spreading lies” about the yet-to-be-introduced online harms bill, the contents of which are not yet clear because it hasn’t been tabled.
“The fact that Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives, without reading the legislation, without knowing what’s in the legislation, are not just opposing it but spreading lies about it is concerning,” Trudeau said at a housing announcement in Membertou First Nation on Cape Breton Island, N.S.
“(Poilievre is) proposing that adults should instead have to give their ID and their personal information to sketchy websites, or create a digital ID, for adults to be able to browse the web where they want, where they want to,” he added.
“That’s something that we stand against and disagree with. We think we need to responsibly protect kids. But we need to do it in a way, that is acceptable to all Canadians.”
Two separate pieces of internet-based legislation appear to be referenced in the prime minister’s comments.
One is the long-promised online harms bill, which Trudeau says will aim to protect children from cyberbullying and sexual exploitation, as well as safeguard their mental health.
The upcoming legislation is also expected to pave the way for a new ombudsperson to field public concerns about online content, as well as a new regulatory role that would oversee the conduct of internet platforms.
On Wednesday, Trudeau said the legislation will be introduced “next week.” On Thursday, he said it would be introduced “soon” and a spokesperson for Justice Minister Arif Virani said, “stay tuned.”
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Speaking in Kitchener, Ont., Wednesday, Poilievre said he plans to oppose Trudeau’s “latest attack on freedom of expression” and said Trudeau cannot differentiate between hate speech and “speech he hates.”
The other reference to “digital IDs” has to do with Bill S-210, a Senate bill that is aimed at preventing people under the age of 18 from accessing pornography online, which is currently before the House of Commons.
The bill, brought forward by Independent Sen. Julie Miville-Dechêne in 2021, would fine sites up to $250,000 per infraction if they fail to verify their users’ age, and has spurred Pornhub to say it would block Canadians from its site if the legislation were to pass.
No specific method of age verification is set out in the legislation, but the proposal has raised privacy concerns over the risks of sharing information that would be needed to verify age with such websites.
Some options available to ensure compliance with such rules include having websites collect user age-verification data or a government-issued digital ID, which is the case in Utah.
On Thursday afternoon, Miville-Dechêne issued a statement saying age verification is not a partisan issue and similar rules exist in the European Union and the United Kingdom. She added her bill passed the Senate without opposition.
“Best practices dictate that age verification would be done by accredited third parties, never by the government or pornographic sites,” Miville-Dechêne said.
“Approving specific age-verification methods will be done in regulations, after extensive consultations. This is the normal way of proceeding and it’s what other jurisdictions have done.”
The senator added that a technical mechanism is not included in the legislation due to the rapidly evolving nature of technology and she doesn’t want it to quickly become obsolete.
On Wednesday, Poilievre responded “yes” to a question on whether a Conservative government would enact similar legislation if in power.
Poilievre spokesperson Sebastian Skamski added in an emailed statement that a Conservative government would not allow the imposition of “digital IDs” for Canadians or “infringe on the privacy of adults and their freedom to access legal content online.”
“Children cannot legally purchase pornography in person, and most Canadians have accepted that fact for many decades. If Justin Trudeau believes that those same children should be able to freely access pornography online, he is free to say so,” Skamski wrote.
The email concludes saying that Conservatives welcome the upcoming committee review of this legislation.
In the House of Commons, the current bill is being sponsored by Conservative MP Karen Vecchio and passed second reading in December 2023.
The Conservatives, Bloc Québécois and NDP all voted in favour of the legislation. The vast majority of Liberals voted against it, but 15 Liberals supported the Senate bill. It would need to pass study by a committee and get through third reading to become law.
Parliament is currently on a break week and will return on Feb. 26. Before introducing any legislation, the government must give two sitting days’ notice.
That would appear to make the earliest the online harms bill can be introduced Feb. 28.
— with files from Global News’ Alex Boutilier and The Canadian Press.
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