Last month, the Canadian government enacted the Online Streaming Act of 2023, more commonly known as Bill C-11. Supporters of the legislation claim it simply brings streaming services under the same regulations that other media platforms already must follow and will promote more Canadian-focused content on them and elsewhere.
But many commentators have noted that the statute affords the government broad powers to police the internet in the country, creating a dangerous precedent that could erode Canadians’ fundamental freedoms.
The law empowers the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to regulate online content, paying special attention to whether it is sufficiently Canadian, and to fine companies and content creators that do not comply with its mandates.
The CRTC will be able to force online actors to remove content that is deemed harmful, offensive, or insufficiently nationalistic, all without proper oversight or due process. J. J. McCullough, a fierce opponent of the bill, said it best:
Bill C-11 has earned the vicious characterization of its fiercest opponents: an act of an authoritarian-minded government seeking greater control over independent media for purely ideological purposes in a globally unprecedented reimagining of the state’s right to control online content, justified only by an imperious assertion that politicians and bureaucrats should decide what their citizenry needs to see.
Trudeau might be a progressive fan favorite, but this new law proves that he is anything but a lowercase-L liberal.