#bill s209

[ungrapeful]

Canada's Internet Censorship Bill S209

Bill S-209 is 'An Act to restrict young persons’ online access to pornographic material', titled that by the Senator who sponsored it in the Senate.

note: Government laws in Canada are more commonly introduced by the House of Commons but the Senate has the same power. MPs in the House are elected directly by citizens while Senators are appointed by Prime Ministers. Bills from the Senate start with 'S' while bills from the House of Commons start with 'C'. Both parties need to agree on the contents of a bill before it passes into law.

This bill is similar to what's happening with KOSA/SCREEN in the US, OSA in the UK, and even Mastercard/Visa where "protecting the children" is being used as an excuse to level bans of 'pornographic material' online, propose the use of AI to somehow determine people's age to restrict their access to the internet, and force people to submit government ID and/or biometric data in order to "verify their age".

Don't be mistaken, this is a censorship bill. This is not about actually protecting children, this is not about reducing dangerous working conditions within the porn industry, this is not about making the internet safer. This is nothing other than allowing governments to control what you can and can't see online.

But porn is bad! Why shouldn't it be banned?

I'm just going to let @roach-works explain since they did it way better than I can: someone got really mad at me for being pro-pornography.

Also, banning 'pornographic material' is not only extremely broad, it is also an extremely slippery slope, because what always comes next is extending that ban to LGBTQ+ content, sexual or not. Censorship bills need to be stopped early, before it gets to that point.

What can I do to help?

There's a change.org petition floating around but if you're Canadian, you're better off directing your energy to call or write to your Member of Parliament to express your concern.

Find your MP.

Email template made by @sunn-kist.

Remember:

personalize your message (form and template emails can get filtered)

calling your MP is still the most effective

written letters are more effective than emails but I'd recommend both

[ungrapeful]

hiiiii, i really appreciate your post on what to do in regards of bill s-209! its really helpful!

tho do you think it would be a good idea to also email/mail/call the senators since its in the senate? talking directly to them might make the bill die earlier rather than wait until it reaches the house of commons

that's a great question!

so generally, MPs are the most accessible federal government representatives we have and by nature of their elected position, it is their job to hear out and consider the concerns of their constituents (also because we vote for them directly). on the other hand, senators in canada are appointed by the prime minister/governor general, they are not beholden to "constituents" the way MPs are.

it's notable to mention that the senator who proposed bill s209 (Julie Miville-Dechêne) also proposed the similar s210 and s203 and has been trying to pass a law like this since 2021. i suspect she will just keep trying until her position expires. she is currently 66 and can potentially hold her seat until 2034 when she is 75, the mandatory retirement age for canadian senators.

that said, you are still welcome to reach out to her! but i believe it will be less effective than writing to your MP since there's no responsibility compelling a senator to respond.

Miville-Dechêne, Julie:

613-943-4780

[email protected]

from the contact info list for current senators