Thank you.
I would like to thank the committee for inviting my testimony today as a representative of the Bahá'í Community of Canada. I'm also appearing as a member of the executive committee of the Canadian Interfaith Conversation, a national body that seeks to foster and promote religious dialogue and harmony.
Bahá'ís, as members of a religion that has been Canada since the late 1800s and that has established communities in most localities in this country, are not the targets of online hate in Canada. However, this issue is of particular concern to our community first and foremost because of core teachings of the Bahá'í faith regarding the promotion of the fundamental oneness of humanity and the elimination of all forms of prejudice. Public or private expressions of hatred towards groups of people, whether online or off-line, are inimical to these beliefs.
We have joined with many other faith and civil society groups to call for the study of the root causes and potential solutions to the rising incidence of online hate that has been directly connected to violent attacks on particular groups. Women, Muslims, Jews, Sikhs and racial minorities have been among the most recent targets of violence that was inspired by hatred spread online.
The recent attacks on Muslims at prayer at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand; the van attack in downtown Toronto; the attack on Jewish worshippers at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh and the shooting at the lslamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City are all recent examples of killers who spent extensive time in digital worlds of hatred.
As Professor Richard Moon has found, “Hate crimes are committed most often...by individuals who have immersed themselves in an extremist subculture that operates at the margins of public discourse, and principally on the Internet.”
Sadly, this is also a problem with which Bahá'ís have first-hand experience in other countries. ln the most egregious case of Iran, a government-supported media campaign of defamation and incitement to hatred has been directly tied to outbursts of violence and murder targeting Bahá'ís. A similar pattern has begun to proliferate in nearby Yemen.
It is clear, then, from a growing body of experience, that the spread of online hatred targeting a defined group can lead individuals, who are perhaps already inclined to bigoted thinking, to act with violence.
What should be done about this problem? Any lasting solution has to somehow take into consideration the roles and responsibilities of individuals, groups, corporations and the institutions of government. With regard to government, I will refrain from commenting on the question of whether section 13 should be reinstated or whether the hate speech provisions in the Criminal Code are sufficient to prosecute cases of online hate. There is a delicate balance, as others have mentioned, to be struck between guaranteeing the free exchange of ideas in the public sphere and sanctioning those whose aim is not to advance truth, but to spread hatred. Clearly the government and, by extension, the courts have a role to play in prosecuting cases of hate speech.
lt is also increasingly clear that policy intervention by government is needed to mitigate the impact of the more egregious misuses of online social networks. Despite recent steps taken by Facebook and Twitter to remove certain accounts, government also has a role to play in regulating these online platforms. Any effective policy intervention must ensure national and local community involvement in determining the standards for online platforms. As David Kaye, the UN special rapporteur on the freedom of expression, has urged, relying upon international human rights norms rather than the arbitrary judgements of commercial platforms is a better basis for the development of these standards. This includes delineating the rights and responsibilities of users, as well as safeguards to ensure that freedom of expression is not unduly curtailed.
However, government action by itself is insufficient. There is also a role for civil society in pushing these companies further in the right direction, beyond the letter of the law. One organization, Change the Terms, has called on tech companies like Facebook, Google and Twitter to take steps to curb the use of social media, payment processors, event-scheduling pages, chat rooms and other applications for hateful activities. There are concrete steps that can be taken by these powerful companies, which are accountable both to government and to the wider society, that can create a healthier public sphere for all of us.
Finally, there is an educational responsibility that falls to community leaders, teachers, families and parents. Changes in the attitudes, values and behaviours of individuals are a necessary part of the solution.
The online environment is ultimately a mirror reflection of our society. We live in a world in which prejudice against certain groups is propagated by many people, even those who do not intend to provoke violent reactions. Religious leaders have a particular responsibility to educate people, to promote fellowship and concord and not to stoke the fires of fanaticism and prejudice. Young people especially need access to education that teaches them from the earliest years that humanity is one family. They require education and mentorship that go beyond a simplistic condemnation of hatred or a set of dos and don'ts regarding their online activities. Youth need to develop a strong moral framework on which to base decisions about their online activities, about which content they choose to consume and share, and about how they use their powers of expression when communicating with friends and strangers online.
Any long-term solution to online hatred has to give due consideration to this generation that is coming of age in an information environment that is confusing, polarizing and indifferent to their moral and ethical development. From where do young people learn to express themselves, using language that is intended to educate rather than to dismiss or denigrate? As they seek to learn about social issues, how will they know the difference between intelligent criticism and hateful propaganda? What ethical tools and social support are we giving to them as they navigate the online world?
Answering these questions is a responsibility that falls not only to government; it is part of a response to online hate that we must all accept to carry forward.
Thank you.