OAN’s Brooke Mallory
2:51 PM – Tuesday, May 14, 2024
Elon Musk recently highlighted an “insane” bill pertaining to online hate speech that is making its way through the Canadian Parliament. If approved, offenders could face fines of up to $50,000 or even a life sentence.
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“This sounds insane if accurate! @CommunityNotes, please check,” Musk posted in response.
Soon after, Community Notes, a fact-checking tool on X (Twitter), attached a slightly confusing explanation that stated: “Part 3 of Bill C-63, which is still at first reading stage and is not yet law, adds to the Canadian Human Rights Act: ‘a person communicates or causes to be communicated hate speech so long as the hate speech remains public and the person can remove or block access to it.’”
The Globe and Mail, a Canadian publication, reported that Bill C-63 “would amend the Criminal Code to enforce stiff penalties for perpetrators.”
“People found guilty of posting hate speech”—which could easily be reported by an anonymous user with a vendetta—”could be forced to pay victims up to $20,000 in compensation. If they refuse to comply, for example, by repeatedly re-posting hate speech, they could face a fine of up to $50,000.”
The bill “also establishes a new hate crime offense, which would carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment,” the outlet added.
“It isn’t just stuff you’ve posted after the new law comes into force you can get into trouble for—oh, no—but anything you’ve posted, ever, dating back to the dawn of the internet,” Toby Young of The Spectator outlet said.
However, one could still be skeptical about the possibility of committing an offense even if the recently established Canadian organization, the Digital Safety Commission, is unable to unearth any “incriminating” information.
“If the courts believe you are likely to commit a ‘hate crime’ or disseminate ‘hate propaganda’ [not defined],” Young added, “you can be placed under house arrest and your ability to communicate with others restricted. That is, a court can force you to wear an ankle bracelet, prevent you using any of your communication devices, and then instruct you not to leave the house. If the court believes there’s a risk you may get drunk or high and start tweeting under the influence—although how is unclear, given you can’t use your phone or a PC—it can order you to submit regular urine samples to the authorities.”
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