The federal government tabled its third attempt at online harms legislation this week, but left out some of the most controversial elements from the last two.
Bill C-34, known as the Safe Social Media Act, was tabled by Culture Minister Marc Miller on June 10. It would create a new digital safety regime for social media platforms, AI chatbot services, and other online services, aiming to reduce harmful content online and make online service providers more “transparent and accountable.”
The Liberals’s first attempt to establish a federal online harms framework came through Bill C-36 in 2021, which died when Parliament was dissolved for the 2021 federal election. It drew criticism from the opposition over its scope, including concerns about how harmful speech was defined and the breadth of proposed regulatory powers….