What’s wrong with S-210? It locks up most of the Internet, and forces adults to sign away their privacy to turn the key. Bill S-210 is supposed to be about keeping young people from seeing adult content – but it doesn’t say anything about how much of that content needs to be accessed through a service for it to be included, or even whether the platform has to know the content is there. Any commercial organization that’s used to access explicit content is included–which would mean age and ID gating the services you use every day like Reddit, Instagram, and even Google search.2
And here’s the thing: even if you’re an adult who is able and willing to tick the box and use the gate, you’re still at huge risk. There’s no guidance in Bill S-210 about what kind of age verification is ok and what’s off limits, meaning that you could be forced by some services to upload your photo ID, scan your face, or even grant access to your social media accounts. That’s creating highly sensitive records of your activities all over the Internet linked directly to your real identity, and S-210’s only protection for you is asking thousands of websites nicely to try and delete those records when they’re done. Nobody in Canada should have to live with this, and the risks for all of us, including disproportionate risks for LGBTQ+ Canadians, are obvious.3,4🚩
There’s no penalties for companies that leak our sensitive data, but a sledgehammer for companies that reject the age gate. To enforce compliance, Bill S-210 proposes mass website blocking for sites and services that don't comply. That’s a crude tool, and likely to censor far more content than just adult material – and Bill S-210 acknowledges that, saying (in Section 9.5) that’s perfectly ok!
So if you’re an Internet company, you either accept you’re going to have to age gate your service, or start to massively over-moderate, using automated tools to remove everything from LGBTQ+ educational material to Michelangelo and the Venus de Milo - content Bill S-210 says should be left alone, but AI tools will likely block.
Bill S-210’s extreme approach is the wrong way to go. From France to Australia, when other countries have studied age verification methods, they’ve concluded the current crop of technology isn’t good enough to protect their citizens’ fundamental rights and privacy.5,6
The Internet has been a powerful platform for marginalized communities to express themselves, share experiences, and find support. Bill S-210, with its lack of nuance and enormous scope, jeopardizes these safe spaces and may stifle the voices of those who need them the most.
For all these reasons, Bill S-210 is going to cause more harm than good. We need legislation that balances protecting young people with balancing everyone’s fundamental rights. Email your MP and tell them to say NO to Bill S-210’s extreme provisions.
Need a deeper read first to make up your mind? Check out our S-210 FAQ!