House Report Recommends Penalizing Social Media Companies for Spreading ‘Questionable’ Information.

November 6, 2024 TruthUSA

It was suggested by a House of Commons heritage committee report that Parliament should enforce penalties on companies like Google and Facebook if they are unable to identify and regulate “undesirable or questionable” content on the internet.

In this November 2024 report, it was recommended that social media platforms implement systems to detect content that may be related to disinformation or foreign interference. Failure to promptly identify and report such content to users should result in penalties for the platforms. These recommendations were first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter.

Other recommendations from the report include the development of an extensive information and awareness campaign on the dangers of disinformation by Ottawa, collaboration with independent academic research by providing data, and ensuring that rules, procedures, and algorithms of companies are accessible to all individuals without resulting in adverse differential treatment of any individual or group.

Based on testimonies from 18 witnesses, including representatives from Google and Meta (Facebook’s parent company), journalists, academics, and advocates, the committee’s goal was to investigate the tactics used by tech giants to evade regulation in Canada and globally.

The report mentioned that some individuals and groups create disinformation to push political ideologies, including extremist views and conspiracy theories, or for financial gains. This misinformation can lead to doubt and confusion, especially in cases involving health information.

The report highlighted the major societal harms caused by unregulated social media platforms that rely on algorithms to amplify content, such as disinformation and conspiracy theories.

A dissenting report by Conservative MPs criticized the committee’s main report for not thoroughly exploring censorship in Canada and the role of tech giants and the federal government in it. The dissenting report stated that Canadians are facing increasing censorship by the government and tech giants regarding their online content consumption.

The dissenting report also argued against a government bureaucracy regulating what content should be prioritized or demoted.

Currently, the House of Commons is reviewing Bill C-63, An Act to enact the Online Harms Act, which proposes the appointment of a “digital safety commissioner” to oversee “harmful” online content. The bill also introduces a new form of hate crime in the Criminal Code, punishable by a life sentence, and mandates financial penalties for individuals found to have posted “hate speech” online.

During a testimony to the Commons justice committee on March 21, Attorney General Arif Virani expressed concerns about unchecked dangers and horrific content on social media and emphasized the need to make the internet a safer space.

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