Free speech advocates around the world railed against a new Canadian law that could demand a life sentence for adults who violate speech laws on social media.
Introduced last month, the Online Harms Act, or Bill C-63, would empower judges to imprison adults for life if they post views supportive of genocide. The bill would increase the maximum penalty for advocating genocide from five years to life imprisonment and from two years to five years, on indictment, for the willful promotion of hatred.
Advocates of the bill say it will make online platforms safer. However, critics called the law “totalitarian” and “Orwellian” for its crackdown on speech. The bill also allows a judge to impose house arrest and a fine if there are reasonable grounds to believe a defendant “will commit” an offense.
George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley deemed the measure the latest step in a progression of already harmful laws against free speech in Canada.
“The proposed changes constitute a doubling down on Canada’s commitment to reducing free speech for citizens despite criticism from many in the civil liberties community,” he wrote in a new column.
Justice Minister Arif Virani, who introduced the bill, argued that laws exist regulating the safety of toys kids play with but not the “screen that is in our children’s faces.”
As a father, he said he was “terrified of the dangers that lurk on the internet for our children.” However, Turley argued the same reasons given to stifle speech in this bill could be expanded to apply in less extreme examples.
“It is not likely to end there. Today the rationale is genocide. However, once the new penalties are in place, a host of other groups will demand similar treatment for those with opposing views on their own causes. This law already increased the penalties for anything deemed hateful speech,” Turley added.
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