A large majority of Canadians voiced concerns over Ottawa’s proposed “online harms” legislation, but this information was not included in the government’s report summarizing the results of the consultation, according to Canadian lawyer and academic Michael Geist.
Ninety percent of Canadians who responded to a previous federal public consultation seeking feedback on Ottawa’s proposed “online harms” legislation voiced opposition to the measures, according to internal government documents obtained from Heritage Canada by Geist through an Access to Information (ATIP) request. Geist published a portion of the information on his website.
The documents elaborated on responses to online consultations conducted by the Liberal government between July and September 2021. The consultations were meant to receive public feedback on a discussion guide and technical paper summarizing the basic outline of potential legislation aimed at regulating internet content deemed harmful….