OTTAWA – Disinformation, including “deep fake” videos and bots spreading fraud, should be covered by a future online damages bill, says a panel appointed by Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez to help shape a future law.
Members of the expert group, including Bernie Farber of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network and Liana MacDonald of the Canadian Center for Child Protection, advised that the law obliges technology giants to deal with the spread of fake news and videos.
Some have suggested that Canada reflect the European Union’s Digital Services Act, which allows for stronger action to tackle misinformation in times of crisis, such as elections, international conflicts and public health emergencies.
They said the EU measure was linked to Russia’s attempts to spread false allegations to justify the invasion of Ukraine.
Public Security Minister Marco Mendicino said in an interview that the technology is already so complex that some fake images and content are “virtually indistinguishable” from the real content, making it very difficult for people to distinguish.
He said a “multi-government approach” involving several departments was needed to tackle the spread of misinformation in Canada.
“We are at a crucial moment in our public discourse. “We are seeing a growing amount of misinformation and misinformation informed by extremist ideology,” he said.
An analysis of scholars from more than six million tweets and retweets – and their origins – found that Canada was targeted by Russia to influence public opinion here.
A study by the University of Calgary School of Public Policy this month found that a huge number of tweets and retweets about the war in Ukraine could be traced to Russia and China, with even more tweets expressing pro-Russian sentiment being traced to the United States.
The ministers announced their intention to introduce an online harm bill to combat online abuse – including racist insults, anti-Semitism and insulting statements against members of the LGBTQ community.
This is after the publication of a previous online hate bill just before last year’s federal election. The bill did not become law.
The expert group, which also includes law and policy educators from across the country, said the bill should not only combat online abuse, including violence against children, but also address false and misleading information online. This may include coordinated disinformation campaigns “used to create, disseminate and increase misinformation”, including the use of bots, bot networks, non-authentic accounts and “deep counterfeits”.
Deepfakes are fake videos or photos that use deep learning technology that creates extremely realistic-looking fake images.
Some experts from the group said the bill should also tackle counterfeit advertising, misleading political communications and content that contributes to an “unrealistic body image”.
The panel said the platforms would have an “obligation to act” to tackle “harmful content online, which includes misinformation, by conducting risk assessments of content that could cause significant physical or psychological harm to people”.
Some experts from the group warned that measures to combat misinformation must be carefully formulated so that they cannot be misused by governments to justify censorship of journalism or criticism.
Their warning was echoed by Emmett McFarlane, a constitutional expert at the University of Waterloo.
“There are always legitimate concerns about the potential for excessive action and unintended consequences arising from this type of law. “Our existing criminal laws on hate speech and obscenity have led to unfair restrictions or blocking of materials at the border, for example,” he said.
The 12-member expert group, which has just finished its work, said misinformation and false publications could pose a higher risk to children.
They recommended that the bill impose strict requirements on social media companies and other platforms to remove content that includes or encourages violence and child exploitation.
Several members criticized the platforms for failing to remove such content immediately, saying “the current performance of online services for the removal of child sexual abuse material is unacceptably poor.”
The panel was critical of the platforms in general, as it said what percentage of harmful content was removed, but not how long it took to remove it.
Rodriguez thanked the group for concluding its discussions last week, saying “their advice is essential to developing a legislative and regulatory framework to address this complex issue and to help create a safe online space that protects all Canadians.” “.
“Freedom of expression is at the heart of everything we do, and Canadians must be able to express themselves freely and openly, without fear of harm online, and our government is committed to taking the time to do it right,” he said.
The minister also thanked the Civic Assembly, a group of 45 Canadians who are looking at the impact of digital technology on democracy, for its advice. At a conference last week, the assembly also stressed the importance of tackling the spread of misinformation online, saying it could manipulate public opinion.
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