OTTAWA, Jan. 27, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Key to note, is that the Commission and the Assembly have independently arrived at the same conclusion: the Canadian government must undertake urgent action to ensure that social media platforms are subject to regulation in order to adequately protect Canadians from online harms.
In light of the steep growth in social and democratic harms online, the Public Policy Forum last spring established a Commission and Citizen Assembly to study and provide informed advice on how to reduce harmful speech on the internet without impairing free speech. The Commission comprised seven eminent Canadians, including The Right Honourable Beverley McLachlin, while the Assembly brought together a randomly selected body of 42 Canadians representing every province and territory as well as the breadth of perspectives and diversity of Canada. The Commission and the Assembly undertook a concurrent though complementary deliberative process, hearing witness testimony from many of the same recognized experts and learning from the insights of an original body of research.
The Findings: Nine months on, the Commission has published its findings alongside those of the Citizens' Assembly. The Commission has set out an integrated program of six practical steps that rejects a policy of aggressive takedown of content in favour of a citizen-centric approach that places responsibility for hateful and harmful content firmly on the shoulders of platforms and its creators. The program is intended to not only protect but enable democratic participation.
The Commission believes that this made-in-Canada approach to curbing the dissemination of online harms will create a standard of reasonableness around how platforms deal with the harmful content in their domains, with responses modulated to the seriousness and pattern of abuse, and consequences for failure to comply.
The Commission's six-step program built off the 33 strong and far-reaching recommendations put forth by the Citizens' Assembly.
The Assembly is concerned about the inadequate moderation of harmful speech on digital platforms. The Assembly members strongly believe that the government has been too slow to adopt adequate regulations that ensure the safety of Canadians participating in the digital public sphere. They reject the appearance of a double standard between online and offline behaviours and believe that digital platforms and users alike should be held accountable for their actions.
Available immediately are two comprehensive reports:
About the Canadian Commission on Democratic Expression:
The Canadian Commission on Democratic Expression is a three-year initiative led by the Public Policy Forum to examine and provide informed advice to the Canadian government on how to maximize the democratic potential of the internet while mitigating ?threats' that decrease participation, openness, accuracy ? features at the very core of democracy.
The Commission will highlight a new challenge relating to digital democracy each year, beginning in April 2020. The Commission will be supported in its annual deliberations by a Citizens' Assembly of 42 Canadian volunteers led by MASS LBP and an original research program led by the Max Bell School of Public Policy at McGill University.
To learn more about this 3-year initiative and how Canada can chart a new course in public discourse and democratic expression online, please contact the Public Policy Forum.
QUOTATIONS
"How does a society deal with its free speech rights if the information highways are clogged with hate and other harms that are disproportionately aimed at women, minorities, Indigenous people, those with non-traditional gender identities? The Commission decided that the current system of content moderation under the sole direction of the platform companies is not and cannot do the job. And that public institutions representing a public interest must step up on behalf of the victims of the deluge and the sanctity of our democracy." Edward Greenspon, President and CEO of Public Policy Forum
Available for Media Opportunities: (English Canada)
Edward Greenspon, President and CEO, Public Policy Forum
Michel Cormier, Executive Director, The Commission on Democratic Expression
Commissioners:
Citizens' Assembly:
MEDIA CONTACTS
Communications: | |
Heather Cavanagh, Director of Communications, Public Policy Forum | |
hcavanagh@ppforum.ca | (email preferred) |
613-791-9546 | |
Tomek Sysak, Marketing Specialist, Public Policy Forum | |
[email protected] | (email preferred) |