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Or sign-in if you have an account.Fresh fruits and vegetables formed the backdrop and the framing for Prime Minister Mark Carney’s announcement about a Canadian food security program at the Ontario Food Terminal in Toronto, Ontario on Thursday, June 11, 2026. (Peter Power/Postmedia News)The Carney government signalled for months that it would pass a law to protect kids from online harms, including by banning access to social media for those under age 16. What we got instead may be the biggest threat to free expression in decades: mandatory censorship of social media and AI.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorThe Safe Social Media Act, Bill C-34, aims to keep kids from signing up for TikTok and Instagram, which is bad enough since it means teenagers will be censored. While many parents don’t want their teens on TikTok, others believe their 15-year-olds are mature enough.Still, the much bigger concern is that the act would create a new Digital Safety Commission with the power to force social media companies and artificial intelligence to censor the speech of adult Canadians.This newsletter from NP Comment tackles the topics you care about. (Subscriber-exclusive edition on Fridays)By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againThe Digital Safety Commission would enforce “duties to act responsibly” by “mitigating the risk” that Canadians are exposed to “harmful content.” Mitigating risk means exactly how it sounds: censoring as much content, either by blocking it or demoting it, as the regulator requires.Social media content is by definition expression and protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The outputs of artificial intelligence chatbots are also protected speech. They are, after all, nothing more than a reflection of human-created speech and writing.The government can only limit expression if the limit is demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society. Some of the limits proposed in C-34 easily pass this test, including requiring social media companies to take down intimate images communicated without consent or child abuse images, and blocking AI from telling its users to commit crimes or to engage in self-harm.But the “duty to act responsibly” also includes much more subjective speech like content that “foments hatred.” Plenty of content that one person (or AI chatbot) may believe is “hatred” is another person’s reasoned argument. It must not be censored.Social media companies and AI companies will be forced to err on the side of caution, taking down anything that comes close, or risk fines up to $10 million or three per cent of global revenues. This will mean a sanitized version of the Internet where we won’t be able to debate difficult topics or get to the actual truth.Just consider what the Supreme Court has said counts as “hatred” in the context of criminal hate speech and anti-discrimination law. The court has said hatred is only extreme vilification and detestation. But what exactly is vilification or detestation? We’re told to look at the “hallmarks of hatred.” These are extremely fuzzy and cover many things free people need to be allowed to say.The “hallmarks” include speech that calls a group “animals” or “alleges a targeted group is plotting to destroy Western civilization.” This can be hateful. But what if some group of people is plotting to destroy Western civilization? X would be required to filter such accusations out of the conversation. ChatGPT would be required to hide or contradict these claims.Another hallmark is trying to “delegitimize a targeted group” by “suggesting its members are illegal or unlawful.” The bill could mean Canadians would no longer be allowed to advocate on Facebook for blocking people from certain countries from entering Canada because they pose a safety risk. It would mean Grok could be forced to hide the truth about the tens of thousands of people who illegally crossed into Canada at Roxham Road in Quebec.A third hallmark of hatred is “expression that equates the targeted group with groups traditionally reviled in society, such as child abusers (or) pedophiles.” The bill may mean that people who equate medical gender transition in children to child abuse will no longer be able to say that on social media, and their writing will no longer be considered when Gemini answers your prompts. Users likely won’t even know that these ideas have been filtered out.Truly hateful speech can cause real harm and shouldn’t be condoned, but social media companies already give us the tools we need to filter out speech that we don’t want to hear, and AI companies already build in safety protections. We don’t need a government regulator sitting in an office in Ottawa threatening to fine social media companies if they don’t censor more speech. That is a far greater threat than what these parts of the bill are purportedly trying to fix.Josh Dehaas is Interim Litigation Director with the Canadian Constitution Foundation. The CCF is asking Canadians to sign their petition to Stop Bill C-34. Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.