One More Tool In The Toolbox: Reflections On The Online Harms Act

On February 24, 2024, the Canadian government brought its long-awaited Online Harms Act (Bill C-63) to Parliament. This substantive and expansive legislation is intended to reduce users' exposure to harmful online content and to make certain online service providers more transparent and accountable as to how they deal with this content.

Since its tabling in the House of Commons, there has been a steady stream of commentary and debate about what this proposed law will mean for victims of abuse, proponents of freedom of speech, impressionable young people, and marginalized groups frequently targeted by hate speech.

In this blog post, I would like to focus on what this bill means for victims of "revenge porn." Although publishing intimate content without consent online is already illegal, this bill puts the onus on social media companies, live streaming services, and user-uploaded adult content services to take down, review, and dispose of or securely store content