A Conservative government would require online porn sites to verify the ages of users to safeguard minors.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre made the commitment at a press conference Wednesday, as a Senate bill proposing such a measure works its way through Parliament.
Bill S-210 passed the Senate in the spring and is awaiting study by a House committee. No meeting has been scheduled yet.
“Do you believe Parliament should make it law that pornography websites have to verify the ages of users so minors can’t access their material? And would a future government of yours do this?” asked a reporter.
“Yes,” replied Poilievre.
The bill was previously stalled in Parliament over privacy concerns, although 15 Liberals broke ranks with the government and voted in favour of the bill alongside the Conservatives, Bloc, and NDP in December.
Bill S-210 mandates that commercial websites offering pornographic content implement age verification mechanisms to ensure that users are at least 18 years old before granting access to their materials.
Critics warn that if the age verification method requires personal information, such as photo identification, it could compromise user safety.
In a follow-up statement, the Conservatives said they “do not support any measures that would allow the imposition of a digital ID or infringe on the privacy of adults and their freedom to access legal content online.”
Liberal-appointed Sen. Julie Miville-Dechêne, who introduced Bill S-210, claimed that Canada’s response to this issue is delayed compared to other countries, adding that she is confused about the Liberals’ stance against the bill. She said that most objections to the bill are based on fear-mongering and fallacies, emphasizing that privacy and data security issues can be addressed in regulations.
“The Canadian government is going against the tide of countries and jurisdictions that are legislating to protect children from exposure to online pornography, including the European Union, the U.K., France, Germany, Spain,” Miville-Dechêne told the Canadian Press.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he plans to introduce measures to bar children from accessing pornography.
Officials in Germany said they are preparing to call on their country’s internet providers to block Pornhub and similar websites.
Michael Geist, University of Ottawa’s Canada Research Chair in internet law, called Bill S-210 a threat to privacy and freedom of expression and one that would mandate the blocking of websites.
Age verification processes frequently involve facial scanning or uploading government-issued identity documents to services based in foreign countries, not Canada, added Geist.
However, Bill S-210 requires that the age-verification method maintains user privacy and protects user personal information. It states that any personal information collected and used would be solely for age-verification purposes and that it would be destroyed once the verification process is complete.
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