
Canada to Introduce Digital Charter: Penalties for 'Misinformation' - petermcneeley
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/digital-charter-trudeau-1.5138194
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vivekd
Canadian Prime Minister clamps down on free speech online to cheers and
applause in the name of protecting people from 'hate speech' whatever that
means.

We can say what we want about extremism but the reality is I don't see much
support for things like the New Zealand supporter anywhere online. I don't
think fear of violent extremism is the real reason for suppressing speech. I
think the real reason for these kinds of calls is that there is growing alt
media and the spread of information online which governments cannot control.

Currently the Canadian government controls who can broadcast in Canada through
the CRTC. They have a government sponsored news network (CBC news) and a
government sponsored TV network (CBC) both of which answer directly to
parliament. They have a government sponsored press syndicate (Canadian press)
that feeds stories to private media companies. They have a 600 million dollar
funding package going to private news agencies.

The Canadian government controls what the Canadian people see and hear and how
they get their news. At the same time, (and probably as a result of state
actions) Canada has seen a surge in independent news broadcasters that use the
internet. Canada has the Rebel Media, Stefan Molyneux, Lauren Southern, Gavin
McInnes. These are all Canadian internet alt-media personalities who are
popular internationally and with Canadians seeking an alternative to state
manipulated media. Incidentally they have all also been labeled hate speech
and would likely be subject to the Prime Minister's new laws.

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rubatuga
Canada just has different hate speech laws than the US. Is it so hard to have
a happy medium?

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Mirioron
I don't get it. Are there ways to hold people accountable for misinformation
in real life? Say, if a politician lies to people during a speech. Are there
any regulations that apply to that? But if they lie online, that's not okay?
Or are politicians excluded here and it only applies to regular people?

While it seems like a great cause, I'm afraid that the collateral damage will
be far too great.

