Trudeau warns of hefty penalties for social media giants that don't clamp down on hate speech

CBC
Thu, 16 May 2019 00:00 UTC

© Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivers a speech at the Viva Technology conference in Paris, Thursday May 16, 2019.

A new digital charter will dictate how the country will combat hate speech, misinformation and online electoral interference in Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a technology conference in Paris on Thursday.

Trudeau made the announcement at the VivaTech conference, an international summit that brings together startups and technology leaders.

The announcement was short on details, which Trudeau says will be revealed in various announcements over the coming weeks. But he warned there will be hefty penalties for social media companies that don't clamp down.

"The platforms are failing their users and they're failing our citizens," he said. "They have to step up in a major way to counter disinformation and if they don't, we will hold them to account and there will be meaningful financial consequences."

Notably, Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains is expected to talk about the initiative at a summit on digital governance in Ottawa in late May.

The prime minister said he's confident the proposed framework will restore the faith of citizens while holding platforms accountable.

Social media and combating online extremism were at the top of the agenda as Trudeau winds down his two day trip to France.

In addition to a working lunch with French president Emmanuel Macron, Trudeau met with New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern earlier Thursday in a bilateral meeting.

Condolences for Christchurch attacks

Ardern said it was one thing to offer condolences following the Christchurch mosque attacks that left 51 dead, but it was quite another to put those words into action as Canada has done in signing on to the "Christchurch Call" - a pledge involving several world leaders and internet giants to stop the spread of hate online.

Trudeau said the massacre must be a catalyst for change.

"When 51 people were gunned down at a mosque in New Zealand and the attacker streamed it live, it wasn't a wake-up call, it was the last straw for government leaders, companies ... and for citizens around the world."

At the end of the summit, Facebook, Google, Twitter and other technology giants pledged to step up their efforts to prevent their platforms from being used to spread hatred, help extremist groups organize and broadcast attacks.

Trudeau and Ardern discussed online violence and extremism in their respective countries, but also broached trade and security commitments around the world.

Following a bilateral meeting and working lunch, Trudeau and Macron spoke to reporters briefly outside the presidential Elysee Palace.

The two leaders discussed "ensuring that the web giants and tech companies take more responsibility for their social and community impacts, including against hatred and violence," Trudeau said.

He repeated that he was heartbroken during a visit to the fire-ravaged Notre Dame Cathedral, but was inspired by the work and courage of Paris firefighters who were able to salvage much of the building.

He repeated a pledge Wednesday to offer any support needed in the rebuilding of the landmark church - one day after he announced Canada's pledge to offer steel and softwood lumber.

The prime minister was to meet Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales later Thursday.

Comment: The consequences of giving social media companies free rein to decide what constitutes hate speech or disinformation could well be the end of free speech as we know it: No to Christchurch Call: Put aside your hate of Trump for a day - he may have just saved free speech

This is the establishment's unifying achievement - a non-binding agreement that will nonetheless serve as a blueprint for future international regulation. If adopted, for most living in the West, there would be no escape.

It is very possible that these new tools will be used cautiously - filtering out only the guns and splatter. But with definitions of hate speech and what is considered extremist being systematically broadened, over time - years? months? - there will be appeals to use these technologies to suppress more and more voices.

And judging by the previous record of the social networks involved, the losers will be the "Islamophobes" and the "transphobes" and the "Russian trolls" - real or imagined - and not the radical feminists calling for all men to be castrated, nor Antifa protesters in balaclavas filming themselves disrupting a campus speech.

While the document talks about the need for "transparency" and "an efficient complaints and appeals process" for any censorship, it leaves both the decisions and the implementation to the tech companies themselves. "Enforcing community standards or terms of service" will still be king - so if a Twitter mod wants to close your account it will be his call and enshrined right.

This is also bound to have a chilling effect on contributors who know that one over-the-line video will exile them from all the biggest internet forums, and deprive them of their income streams.

Less clear is whether pushing the marginalized into the darker corners of the internet actually helps to prevent the flourishing of extremism, or will create a parallel underground network that will be far more radicalized. Imagine a bigger and more toxic 4chan for all the rejects, if you can.

What is certain is that any filtering, reporting and pre-moderation technologies developed as a result of the Christchurch Call will be adopted with enthusiasm by genuinely repressive regimes, and likely deployed by the California giants themselves at the request of such governments, who will cite their own anti-extremism legislation.