The dozen advisors Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez asked to help the Liberal government with its second attempt at fighting online hate and illegal pornography have concluded 10 weeks of workshop sessions and handed in their results, he said. Expect more “engagement activities” over the summer in preparation for legislation “as soon as possible.” (The Logic)
Talking point: The Liberals pulled the plug on their first set of proposals after global experts condemned them. Summaries of the new panel’s work indicate that they found difficult questions such as the balance between protecting free expression (even if it’s unpopular or somewhat harmful) and protecting people from hate and abuse are, indeed, very difficult. “Some experts,” one summary reads, “argued that content must be defined and scoped in sufficient detail within the legislation” so people know what’s restricted, while others favoured “a broad framework that does not define content in a detailed way.” Meanwhile, the United States is embarking on a similar effort of its own.