Category Archives: Internet Law

The Online Harms Bill – Part 1 – Why We Need Legislation

By: Emily Laidlaw

Matter Commented On: Bill C-63, 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)

PDF Version: The Online Harms Bill – Part 1 – Why We Need Legislation

This is the first in a series of posts that will unpack the Online Harms Bill C-63. In this first post, I will explain how and why we got here, as there is a significant amount of misunderstanding about what this Bill is about and why we might need it before the merits of this Bill are examined. It also important to contextualize the Bill within the law of intermediary liability, the law that applies to technology companies that facilitate transactions between third parties. Unlike many other jurisdictions, Canada operates in a relative legal vacuum in this space. Continue reading →

Online Age Verification is Crucial and Bill S-210 Gets It Wrong

By: Emily B. Laidlaw

Matter Commented On: Bill S-210, An Act to restrict young persons’ online access to sexually explicit material, 1st Sess, 44th Parl, 2021.

PDF Version: Online Age Verification is Crucial and Bill S-210 Gets It Wrong

Age verification is a tool that verifies a user’s age before permitting them to access certain online content, websites, or apps. It is primarily advocated for the purpose of verifying the ages of users and creators on pornography sites. Age verification can have wider application and has been proposed as a solution to an array of child safety issues on social media, including algorithms pushing content about eating disorders, self-harm, misinformation, and viral “challenges”, to luring and cyber-bullying. For example, many platforms ban users under 13 years old and/or have child protection measures for 13-17-year-olds, such as blocking direct messaging, limiting screen time, or curating age-appropriate content. TikTok, for example, has such tools, but relies entirely on user self-verification of age and encouragement of parental oversight (such as their service, Family Pairing). Continue reading →

Bridging the Digital Divide: Encouraging Societal Participation in the Face of an Increasingly Digital World

By: Hasti Pourriahi

Matter Commented On: Bank of Canada Public Consultation and the Digital Divide

PDF Version: Bridging the Digital Divide: Encouraging Societal Participation in the Face of an Increasingly Digital World

The Bank of Canada’s pursuit to introduce a digital Canadian dollar is often prefaced by reference to the necessity of this development, should digital currencies issued by other countries become widespread enough that they begin compromising centrally issued currencies. Most recently, in May of 2023, a public consultation was launched around a potential central bank digital currency (CBDC) which accepted responses until June 19, 2023. The Bank of Canada recognizes that a decline in cash use could leave groups of Canadians financially excluded, especially considering ongoing unequal levels of access to technological resources and advancements. Continue reading →

Taking Cybersecurity Seriously: Ten New Principles

By: Jack Hoskins

Legislation Commented On: Bill C-26 – An Act respecting cyber security, amending the Telecommunications Act and making consequential amendments to other Acts, 1st Sess, 44th Parl, 2022.

PDF Version: Taking Cybersecurity Seriously: Ten New Principles

Welcome to the golden age of cybercrime. An old pastime of mischievous young computer geeks is now the domain of nation states and professional hacker groups. It’s a trillion-dollar industry. Attacks grow in number and scale every year and no one is safe, not even cybersecurity companies and the NSA. Tools developed to guard against cyberattacks are stolen and repurposed to make hacking faster and subtler. The worst is yet to come. Quantum computing may soon overpower all known methods of encryption, ushering in the “quantum apocalypse.” Deepfakes and AI are only in their infancy. Continue reading →

Access to Digital Assets by Fiduciaries

By: Stella Varvis

PDF Version: Access to Digital Assets by Fiduciaries

Matter Commented On: the Uniform Access to Digital Assets by Fiduciaries Act

The email from your brother about spring break. Photos from prospective online dates stored on your phone. Restaurant reviews posted on your WordPress blog. Your Airmiles travel points. Your Venmo payment account. Your Bitcoin wallet.

You may own more digital assets than you realize. In fact, estimates suggest that the average Canadian has digital assets with a stored electronic value of approximately $10,000 (See Noor Ibrahim, “Does your social media profile belong in your will? Why Canadians should plan their ‘digital inheritance’ now” (26 Nov 2021)). But what happens to your digital assets if you die or become incapacitated? Who has the right to access your digital assets? And what can be done if an online service provider in another jurisdiction denies access? Continue reading →