Post Tagged with: "age verification"

The Day I Knew I Was Old ;) by artistmac https://flic.kr/p/jnHv7a CC BY-SA 2.0

Risky Business: The Legal and Privacy Concerns of Mandatory Age Verification Technologies

When the intersection of law and technology presents seemingly intractable new challenges, policy makers often bet on technology itself to solve the problem. Whether countering copyright infringement with digital locks, limiting access to unregulated services with website blocking, or deploying artificial intelligence to facilitate content moderation, there is a recurring hope the answer to the policy dilemma lies in better technology. While technology frequently does play a role, experience suggests that the reality is far more complicated as new technologies also create new risks and bring unforeseen consequences. So too with the emphasis on age verification technologies as a magical solution to limiting under-age access to adult content online. These technologies offer some promise, but the significant privacy and accuracy risks that could inhibit freedom of expression are too great to ignore.

The Hub runs a debate today on the mandated use of age verification technologies. I argue against it in a slightly shorter version of this post. Daniel Zekveld of the Association for Reformed Political Action (ARPA) Canada makes the case for it in this post.

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July 9, 2025 — 5 comments — Columns
Guess Age or Weight by Brendan Lynch https://flic.kr/p/ajkdrV CC BY-NC 2.0

Here We Go Again: Internet Age Verification and Website Blocking Bill Reintroduced in the Senate (With Some Changes)

The last Parliament featured debate over several contentious Internet-related bills, notably streaming and news laws (Bills C-11 and C-18), online harms (Bill C-63) and Internet age verification and website blocking (Bill S-210). Bill S-210 fell below the radar screen for many months as it started in the Senate and received only cursory review in the House. The bill faced only a final vote in the House but it died with the election call. This week, the bill’s sponsor, Senator Julie Miville-Dechêne, wasted no time in bringing it back. Now Bill S-209, the bill starts from scratch in the Senate with the same basic framework but with some notable changes that address at least some of the concerns raised by the prior bill (a fulsome review of those concerns can be heard in a Law Bytes podcast I conducted with Senator Miville-Dechêne).

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May 29, 2025 — 6 comments — News
Porn from bohemia cafe by Anthony Easton CC BY 2.0 https://flic.kr/p/4EnM4w

The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 213: Elaine Craig on Mainstreaming Porn and Why Bill S-210 May Make Matters Worse

Bill S-210, the controversial age verification bill which purports to limit access to pornography for those under 18, could be headed for a final vote of approval in the House of Commons within the next couple of weeks. Much of the concern with the bill has focused on the privacy and free speech implications of mandating the technology and opening the door to website blocking. Yet often missing from the debate has been a deeper, more nuanced examination of pornography including distinctions between unlawful and so-called awful but lawful content, the role and responsibility of pornography platforms, and alternatives to the S-210 reliance on blocking and age verification technologies. That gap in the debate has now been filled by Professor Elaine Craig of the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University in her new book, Mainstreaming Porn. Professor Craig joins the Law Bytes podcast to discuss the book, the massive influence of porn platforms, the problems with Bill S-210, and the legal mechanisms she thinks would best address the issue. 

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September 23, 2024 — 5 comments — Podcasts
Filibusters Waste Time by Marni Soukup https://flic.kr/p/8RJW4C CC BY 2.0

Bill S-210 Study Without Witnesses?: Why a Conservative Filibuster May Lead to New Internet Age Verification Requirements and Website Blocking Legislation

When I first wrote about the arrival of Bill S-210 in the House of Commons back in December, I dubbed it the most dangerous Canadian bill you’ve never heard of and warned that “Senate private members bills rarely become law, but this bill is suddenly on the radar screen in a big way.” Nearly six months later, the bill is closer than ever to becoming law as the Conservatives improbably appear to be doubling down on support and seeking to limit witness testimony through filibuster tactics that could result in a full House vote without any amendments. For those new to the bill, the government has called it “fundamentally flawed” since it contemplates measures that raise privacy concerns through mandated age verification technologies, website blocking, and extends far beyond pornography sites to include search and social media. While the government has opposed it (save for a small number of Liberal MPs), the bill received full backing from Conservative, NDP, and Bloc MPs to send to the Standing Committee on Public Safety for further review. Now that it is there, the Conservative MPs have used filibuster tactics to block all witness testimony on the bill.

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May 16, 2024 — 13 comments — News
Show me Common Sense by Adam Fagen https://flic.kr/p/24pgGRY CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Conservatives Double Down on Support for Mandated Internet Age Verification and Website Blocking: Why Can’t Canada Get Common Sense Digital Policy?

Digital policy has been the source of seemingly never-ending frustration for years in Canada. The government chose to prioritize two flawed bills on online streaming and online news, both of which sparked considerable opposition, lengthy delays, and ultimately delivered few actual benefits (Bill C-11 faces at least another year of hearings at the CRTC, Bill C-18 is a disaster that has left many media companies worse off). Its 2021 consultation on online harms was so badly received that it was quickly shelved and has required nearly three years to recover. The policies it should have prioritized such as stronger privacy and competition rules were largely left to languish with Bill C-27 still in committee and now subject to mounting opposition over the decision fold AI regulation with minimal consultation into the bill.

Given that track record, it is hard to be optimistic as the online harms rules get set to take centre stage.

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February 22, 2024 — 11 comments — News
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