Category: Internet Law Page 2 of 4

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

On June 26, 2023

In Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, Internet Law

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.

Taking Cybersecurity Seriously: Ten New Principles

By Jack Hoskins

On September 22, 2022

In Internet Law

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, 1^st Sess, 44^th 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.

Access to Digital Assets by Fiduciaries

By Stella Varvis

On April 20, 2022

In Internet Law, Property

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?

The Federal Government’s Proposal to Address Online Harms: Explanation and Critique

By Darryl Carmichael

On September 13, 2021

In Internet Law

By: Darryl Carmichael and Emily Laidlaw

PDF Version: The Federal Government’s Proposal to Address Online Harms: Explanation and Critique

Commented On: The Federal Government’s proposed approach to address harmful content online

In late July, the Federal Government introduced its proposal for online harms legislation for feedback. It comprises a discussion paper outlining the government’s approach to regulating social media platforms and a technical paper that provides more detail on the substance of the proposed law. The proposal is part of a suite of law reform efforts by the Canadian government concerning what can broadly be categorized as platform regulation and content regulation issues. They include Bill C-10 to reform broadcasting laws, which stalled when it hit the Senate floor (for now at least) and proposed legislation to combat hate speech and hate crimes. The timing of the online harms and hate speech proposals has been a point of contention so close to the election call. Regardless of the election result in September, it is worthwhile analyzing this proposal because the Canadian government will need to prioritize law reform in this area. Online harms legislation is sweeping the globe, and Canada is well overdue to address these issues. For better or worse (as remains to be seen), new laws have been proposed or passed in Europe, the United Kingdom (UK), Australia, India, and Turkey, to name a few.

Protection Against Online Hate Speech: Time for Federal Action

By Emily Laidlaw

On March 19, 2021

In Equality, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, Human Rights, Internet Law

By: Emily Laidlaw & Jennifer Koshan, with Emma Arnold-Fyfe, Lubaina Baloch, Jack Hoskins, and Charlotte Woo

PDF Version: Protection Against Online Hate Speech: Time for Federal Action

Legislation Commented On: Canadian Human Rights Act, RSC 1985, c H-6

Editor’s Note

During Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Week at the University of Calgary in February 2021, the Faculty of Law’s EDI Committee held a research-a-thon where students undertook research on the law’s treatment of equity, diversity and inclusion issues. Over the next few weeks, we will be publishing a series of ABlawg posts that are the product of this initiative. This post is the first in the series, which also closely coincides with the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination next week on March 21. The theme this year is “Youth Standing Up Against Racism”, which fits well with this initiative.

Introduction

On January 5^th, 2021, Erin O’Toole, leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, tweeted “Not one criminal should be vaccinated ahead of any vulnerable Canadian or front line health worker.” His tweet unsurprisingly went viral. To date the tweet has received 6.1k likes, 3.6k retweets and 4.8k comments. The tweet is representative of the kind of internet content we have grown increasingly and painfully accustomed to: content that is rhetorical, overblown, and often hateful, even if not explicitly directed at marginalized groups, and that occurs on a platform with global reach. When Erin O’Toole tweets, it is to an audience of 122.7k followers.

This post is not about Erin O’Toole’s tweet per se. Indeed, while his tweet dehumanizes prisoners and those with a criminal record, persons who are disproportionately Indigenous, it is not obvious, on its face, that it meets the legal standard of hate speech. Rather, this post is about what tweets like his represent in the struggle to regulate hate speech online: that so much we intuitively know is wrong falls into a legal grey area, and that much of the harm is the mob pile-on that the original post inspires. In the case of the O’Toole tweet, many tweets in response have been removed by Twitter, but it is noteworthy that thousands of others addressed the harmful nature of his statements with tweets such as “prison health is public health”, recognizing the risk of COVID-19 transmission in prisons.