Bill S-210 (Historical)

Protecting Young Persons from Exposure to Pornography Act

An Act to restrict young persons’ online access to sexually explicit material

This enactment makes it an offence for organizations to make sexually explicit material available to young persons on the Internet. It also enables a designated enforcement authority to take steps to prevent sexually explicit material from being made available to young persons on the Internet in Canada.

Pornography

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the next petition I am tabling is in support of Bill S-209, although it says Bill S-210 because that was the number used in the last Parliament.

Petitioners support this bill to protect young people, children, from accessing explicit sexual material online. Showing sexually explicit material to children is a form of child abuse, yet it happens regularly online. Many children are accessing violent sexual material at an early age. Well-established methods for age verification that does not involve proof of identity could protect children from this scourge. Petitioners recognize the importance of this and want the House to support the adoption of the bill.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Next, I would like to table a petition in support of Bill S-210. The petitioners say that was the number of the bill in the last Parliament, the protecting young persons from exposure to pornography act. It is now Bill S-209 in this Parliament.

The petitioners note that sexually explicit material, including demeaning and violent material, can be easily accessed on the Internet by young persons. A significant portion of that material is made available on the Internet for commercial purposes and is not protected by age verification. Parliament recognizes the harmful effects of the increasing accessibility of sexually explicit materials online for young persons. Further, the petitioners note that online age verification technology is increasingly sophisticated and can now effectively ascertain the age of users without any breach of privacy.

The petitioners, therefore, want to see reasonable age verification requirements that protect privacy so that young children are no longer able to access sexual material online. That is why they are calling on the House to support what is, in this Parliament, Bill S-209, which was Bill S-210 in the previous Parliament.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

The government House leader does not want to hear this, but it is an important petition. I hope he will take note of it and support this important bill.

The petitioners call upon the House of Commons to adopt Bill S-210, which is now Bill S-209, the protecting young persons from exposure to pornography act.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the next petition I am tabling deals with a bill that was previously named Bill S-210 and has been reintroduced in this Parliament as Bill S-209.

The petitioners are calling for meaningful age verification for those accessing sexual material online. They note that the consumption of sexually explicit materials by young persons is associated with a range of serious harms, including the development of pornography addiction, the reinforcement of gender stereotypes, the development of attitudes favourable to harassment and violence, etc.

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I have the privilege to present two petitions here today.

The first petition comes from Canadians from across the country who are concerned about sexually explicit material online. The consumption of sexually explicit material by young people is associated with a wide range of serious harms, including the development of addiction, the reinforcement of gender stereotypes and the development of attitudes favourable to harassment and violence, including sexual harassment and sexual violence, particularly against women.

Parliament has recognized these harmful effects and the increasing accessibility of sexual explicit material online for young people, and sees that as an important part of public health and as a public safety concern.

The folks who have signed the petition are calling on the Government of Canada to recognize a 2017 study by the Standing Committee on Health, and they call on the House of Commons and the government to adopt Bill S-210, the protecting young persons from exposure to pornography act.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Madam Speaker, the next petition I am presenting is in support of Bill S-210, a bill that seeks to bring about meaningful age verification for those accessing sexually explicit material online. Bill S-210 had the unanimous support of the Senate and the support of a majority of the House at second reading.

The petitioners note that a significant portion of the sexually explicit material accessed online is not protected by any effective age verification method. The average age of first exposure to pornography is very young. It is, in fact, 11 or 12 years of age, so many young children are consuming this material who should not be. In fact, exposing children to sexual material is a form of child abuse. The petitioners also note that there is a great deal of research on harms associated with this early exposure, including reinforcement of gender stereotypes. These harms also include the development of attitudes favourable to harassment and violence, including sexual harassment and violence, especially towards women.

The petitioners also say that online age verification technology is increasingly sophisticated and can effectively ascertain the age of users without breaching their privacy rights in any way. Therefore, petitioners call on the House to pass Bill S-210, the protecting young persons from exposure to pornography act.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Madam Speaker, I am tabling a petition in support of Bill S-210, the protecting young persons from exposure to pornography act.

The petitioners note that sexually explicit material, including demeaning and violent sexual material, can be easily accessed on the Internet by young persons. A significant portion of the sexually explicit material accessed online is made available for commercial purposes and is not protected by any effective age verification technology.

The petitioners also note that online age verification technology is increasingly sophisticated and can now effectively ascertain the age of a user without in any way breaching their privacy rights. These recommendations have been made by stakeholders in a 2017 study presented to the Standing Committee on Health and are reflected in Bill S-210.

Therefore, the petitioners call upon the House to adopt Bill S-210 as quickly as possible.

[Mark Strahl, Conservative, Chilliwack—Hope, BC]

Madam Speaker, I have three petitions I would like to table today.

The first calls upon the House of Commons to adopt Bill S-210, the protecting young persons from exposure to pornography act.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Madam Speaker, the next petition is in support of Bill S-210, a common-sense bill that would protect very young children from exposure to violent sexual images online.

Petitioners recognize that exposing young people to violent sexual images is a form of abuse, yet we know that the average age of exposure to pornography in Canada is 11. It is very common for very young children to access this material because there are no meaningful checks on that access.

Petitioners note that Parliament should recognize the harmful effects associated with exposure to pornography at a very young age, including the development of pornography addiction, the reinforcement of gender stereotypes, the development of attitudes favourable to harassment and violence, including sexual harassment and violence, and particularly an increase in violence against women. Petitioners further note that online age verification technology is increasingly sophisticated and can effectively ascertain the age of the user without creating concerns for privacy rights.

Anyone making sexually explicit material available on the Internet for commercial purposes should have a responsibility to ensure that that material is not accessed by young persons, and this is precisely what Bill S-210 would do. Online age verification was the primary recommendation made by stakeholders during a 2017 study by the Standing Committee on Health. The issue has been extensively studied before. The bill has also been extensively studied, particularly by multiple committees in the Senate.

Therefore, petitioners are calling upon the House of Commons to adopt Bill S-210,, the protecting young persons from exposure to pornography act.

[Frank Caputo, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the people from Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo. I have a petition to present today.

It is respecting the general thrust of Bill S-210, which looks at the pernicious effects of the consumption of pornography, particularly for young people who have not yet reached adulthood. The petitioners advocate for online age verification.

Department of Justice—Main Estimates, 2024-25

[Kristina Michaud, Bloc, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Madam Chair, the government is completely ignoring Bill S‑210. Bill C‑63 is a huge bill that has received some criticism. It is likely to take a long time to study.

However, we think the proposal to set up a digital safety commission is a good idea that should be implemented quickly. That is why we are proposing that the bill be split, quite simply, so that we can take the time to properly study all harmful content while still setting up the digital safety commission quickly. I understand that the proposal has not been accepted, but I still think it is a good idea.

The topic of harmful content brings me to hate speech. Will the minister commit to abolishing the Criminal Code exemption that allows hate speech in the name of religion? In fact, that would be a great addition to his Bill C‑63.

[Kristina Michaud, Bloc, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Madam Chair, I politely beg to differ. I feel that Bill C‑63 is extremely important, but it is not exactly the same thing. Yes, it contains elements that make it possible to regulate or, at least, be warned before consuming certain types of content, but there is nothing that really makes it possible to verify the consumer's age.

I would therefore advise the government to support a bill like Bill S‑210. Obviously, it is not easy to implement this type of safeguard, and other countries are currently looking at that. However, it is an extremely important bill.

To return to Bill C‑63, would the minister agree that the first part of the bill could be split from the rest so that the digital security commission could be created as quickly as possible? That would enable us to protect female victims of intimate content communicated without consent, including deepfakes.

[Kristina Michaud, Bloc, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Madam Chair, I think that the minister is well aware that those are two completely different missions. Both are commendable.

Bill C‑63 has its good points, but Bill S‑210 really seeks to check the age of pornography users to limit young people's access to it. The Liberal Party seems to disagree with this bill, and yet other countries, like Germany, France and the United Kingdom, as well as some states in the U.S. are looking into this way of verifying the age of users.

Why does Canada not want to move forward in this way to limit the access of children under the age of 18 to pornography?

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Madam Chair, that is a great question, but I believe that the senator's bill, Bill S‑210, addresses only one aspect of our broader Bill C‑63.

Protecting children from pornography and sexual predators is a priority for both me and the senator. However, we have different ways of tackling the problem. We are dealing with a much bigger and broader problem in our own Bill C-63. We are also different when it comes to the mandates and the modus operandi that the senator proposes to use.

We are concerned about how to verify someone's age. Does it have to be a piece of government-issued ID? Will this cause other problems or lead to the possibility of other crimes, such as financial fraud, at the international level?

[Kristina Michaud, Bloc, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Madam Chair, I would point out to the minister that he does not want to give Quebec an exemption from the Criminal Code, but he is giving one to British Columbia. In my view, this is something that is possible for the people in this situation in Quebec.

Now, I would like to hear his comments on all the issues related to child pornography, children's access to pornography and the sharing of non-consensual content. To my eyes, the purpose of Bill S‑210, which was introduced by Senator Julie Miville‑Dechêne and which seeks to prevent minors from accessing pornography, is completely different from the purpose of Bill C‑63, which the minister introduced and which seeks to protect the public from harmful content streamed on social media, such as intimate content communicated without consent and content that sexually victimizes a child.

Does he agree with me that these two bills have completely different purposes?