NSCL THE IMPACT OF BILL C-63 [ THE “ONLINE HARMS BILL” ] ON FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

Bill C-63 the Online Harms Bill proposes to regulate harmful content on the Internet and impose a duty to act responsibly on social media companies. While this proposed legislation will no doubt have an impact on freedom of speech and freedom of expression, there has been a significant amount of misinformation and misunderstanding about what Bill C-63 is about and why we might need it.

We will be reviewing the provisions of the Online Harms Bill and discussing its potential impact on freedom of speech and freedom of expression.

Bill C-63 is officially titled An Act to enact the Online Harms Act, to amend the Criminal Code, the Canadian Human Rights Act and An Act respecting the mandatory reporting of Internet child pornography by persons who provide an Internet service and to make consequential and related amendments to other Acts, 1st Sess, 44th Parl, 2024 (Online Harms Bill).

You can read the version tabled for First Reading in Parliament here:

https://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/bill/C-63/first-reading