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About this Delegation
About this Delegation
Online harms, including hate speech, bullying, sexual exploitation and misinformation, have had a serious impact on young Canadians. This highlights the importance of including youth perspectives in the development of policies that are focused on making online spaces safer.
YPC worked with like-minded organizations to gather input from young Canadians on the proposed Online Harms Act. We also organized the first youth roundtable with then–Minister of Canadian Heritage Pascale St-Onge, which gave young people an opportunity to share their experiences, perspectives, and recommendations directly with policymakers at the highest levels.
Our delegation worked to develop clear and meaningful recommendations to make the proposed Online Harms Act more representative of young people's priorities.
Ultimately, our delegation helped enhance the effectiveness of the bill in protecting youth and those who are vulnerable to harmful online content that many can find easily on our social media platforms and other public pages.
Our Recommendations
Our Recommendations
Call to Action
Call to Action
The Young Politicians of Canada (YPC) urges the Canadian government and legislators to enact a balanced and transparent Online Harms Act that protects young Canadians from harmful content while upholding essential freedoms and encouraging responsible platform operation. Our generation deserves a safe online environment where we can express ourselves freely, access reliable information, and connect without fear of exposure to harm. We urge immediate action to address the current gaps and ambiguities in the Canadian Online Harms Act to ensure it serves both the safety and rights of young Canadians. Canadian politicians must work at a faster pace for the protection of youth. Young Canadians want to see an internet without sexual exploitation, hatred, and bullying content.
Recommendations
Recommendations
Clear Definition
Hate Speech Online: Establish a clear framework that defines hate speech online.
Defining what constitutes hate online is crucial in the Online Harms Act, as online interactions often amplify and distort harmful behaviours differently than in-person exchanges. Thus, there is a fundamental difference in the conceptualization of hate online and in person. Clear, context-sensitive definitions will help ensure that moderation effectively targets true instances of hate without stifling legitimate expression or debate.
Privacy and Age-Appropriate Safety Measures
Age-Appropriate Design: Define standardized guidelines for age-appropriate content on platforms with distinct age criteria, minimizing exposure to harmful content for minors.
Private Messaging and Youth Protection: Require platforms to scan private messages when reported for severe offences, such as child sexual abuse material, genocide glorification, or hate crimes, while respecting user privacy for other types of content.
Youth Inclusion
Youth Representation in Governance: Include youth representatives on the Digital Safety Commission to reflect the needs and experiences of young Canadians directly.
Emerging Technologies
Legislating Artificial Intelligence: Make clear mention of artificial intelligence and its role in online harm as it is essential to proactively address AI-driven content risks, such as misinformation, deep fakes, and algorithmic biases that could amplify harmful content. Legislating AI would ensure evolving technologies are held accountable, helping to safeguard users from new types of digital harm.
Delegates are also interested in seeing legislation of deepfakes and distribution of deepfakes in the bill further in depth.
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