Free speech advocates around the world railed against a new Canadian law that could demand a life sentence for adults who violate speech laws on social media.
Introduced last month, the Online Harms Act, or Bill C-63, would empower judges to imprison adults for life if they post views supportive of genocide. The bill would increase the maximum penalty for advocating genocide from five years to life imprisonment and from two years to five years, on indictment, for the willful promotion of hatred.
Advocates of the bill say it will make online platforms safer. However, critics called the law “totalitarian” and “Orwellian” for its crackdown on speech. The bill also allows a judge to impose house arrest and a fine if there are reasonable grounds to believe a defendant “will commit” an offense.
90 views