Fight online hate and radicalization

As seen in attacks on Jewish communities in Pittsburgh, San Diego County, Jersey City, and Monsey, as well as on mosques in Christchurch and elsewhere, online threats can – and often do – lead to real-world violence. 

In 2019, after CIJA mobilized thousands of Canadians to speak out on the issue, the House of Commons Justice Committee conducted a study of online hate. Its report included a series of recommendations in line with CIJA’s proposals – including a robust plan to track online hate, prevent online hate through education, and make better use of legal tools to stop online hate.  

Recommendations

An independent regulator and regulatory regime so that decisions about what constitutes online hate are impartial. Any regulation must use a definition of hate aligned with Supreme Court of Canada jurisprudence and the IHRA working definition on antisemitism. 

Ensure that the legislation and regulations compel social media companies to address online hate, with penalties for non-compliance. 

Require social media companies to increase transparency on internal policies, procedures, and guidelines, including algorithmic transparency. 

Compelling social media companies to report imminent and serious threats to law enforcement.  

Annual progress reports by the Government of Canada on combatting online hate. 

Monitor and regulate emerging platforms as well as large social media providers, and ensure legislation is flexible enough to capture the current reality of social media and adapt to future technological changes. This includes addressing the status of online video games, apps, and the collection and sharing of data. 

A national, social media literacy campaign to sensitize Canadians – especially the younger, more vulnerable demographics – about the appropriate use of and abuse of social media. 

Increasing resources for law enforcement, Crown Attorneys, and judges to ensure they receive sufficient training on how to apply existing laws to effectively address online hate. 

Directing Statistics Canada to address the gap in data collection by allocating resources to create a national database of hate crimes where individuals can report online hate incidents.