Canada害羞草研究所檚 privacy czar and a government official are warning that a Senate bill proposing to block minors from 害羞草研究所渟exually explicit material害羞草研究所� online could apply to streaming services such as Netflix.
Philippe Dufresne, the country害羞草研究所檚 privacy commissioner, says legislators should dramatically narrow the bill害羞草研究所檚 scope to address concerns about 害羞草研究所渨hat will be captured.害羞草研究所�
Dufresne, along with Owen Ripley, a deputy minister at Canadian Heritage, were the first to testify late Monday at a parliamentary committee tasked with studying legislation proposed by Independent Sen. Julie Miville-Dech锚ne.
害羞草研究所淭he bill is highly problematic for a number of reasons, including a scope that is much too broad, both in terms of regulated services as well as regulated content,害羞草研究所漅ipley testified late Monday.
Experts like University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist, who specializes in internet and e-commerce law, say age verification technology is not there yet, and the 害羞草研究所渇undamentally flawed害羞草研究所� bill raises major privacy concerns.
Proponents of the bill argue its purpose, which is to shield minors from sexually graphic and violent material, is an important enough endeavour that it should be passed, with the technical details to be sorted out through a regulatory process.
But Geist said policies on how to handle technology should be created based on known capabilities, not on 害羞草研究所渢echnological fairy dust.害羞草研究所�
害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 fundamentally defective in its current form, and it can害羞草研究所檛 be fixed without a complete overhaul,害羞草研究所� said longtime privacy lawyer David Fraser.
害羞草研究所淭he technology simply doesn害羞草研究所檛 exist to permit age verification at scale.害羞草研究所�
He also echoed concerns about the potential reach of the bill, saying 害羞草研究所渟exually explicit material害羞草研究所� as defined could mean it applies to search engines, social-media giants, e-book publishers and even streaming services.
害羞草研究所淭here害羞草研究所檚 significant freedom of expression concerns,害羞草研究所� he said in an interview Tuesday.
During the committee hearing late on Monday, Ripley confirmed his own interpretation that as it is written, the proposed law would make it a rule for services like Netflix to verify the age of their users.
害羞草研究所淢andating age verification requirements for this scope of services and content would have far-reaching implications for how Canadians access and use the internet,害羞草研究所� he said.
Dufresne raised similar concerns and recommended that legislators amend the language so it targets websites providing 害羞草研究所渟exually explicit material害羞草研究所� for commercial purposes.
Fraser added Tuesday it害羞草研究所檚 likely that companies will look at the cost of complying with the proposed law and just block Canadian access to the content rather than risk liability.
Fraser noted that Pornhub began blocking access to Texas earlier this year after it ushered in its own age verification laws, as other states have done.
The company害羞草研究所檚 owners have said that is one of the options they are considering as parliamentarians decide what to do with the current Senate bill.
害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 not designed to keep kids safe. It害羞草研究所檚 not designed to keep adults safe,害羞草研究所� said Solomon Friedman, a partner and vice-president of compliance at Ethical Capital Partners, which owns Pornhub害羞草研究所檚 parent company, Aylo.
害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 designed to impose the morality of a select few ideologically motivated legislators on the rest of Canadians.害羞草研究所�
Its owners oppose the bill and are instead pushing for device manufacturers to be the ones to bear the onus of ensuring minors don害羞草研究所檛 access such sites, rather than platforms themselves.
Friedman said his company has requested that committee members provide Pornhub executives a chance to appear to discuss the legislation and its potential impacts.
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