NDP MP introduces bill to combat online hate speech
NDP MP introduces bill to combat online hate speech
Incidents of online hate speech are on the rise and an NDP MP is introducing new legislation to stop it.
Peter Julian hosted a town hall in partnership with the Dalhousie University Student Union on Saturday in Halifax to promote the bill.
Julian said the cause of the problem is social media algorithms.
“The algorithms that are there now are secret, and algorithms have a tendency we’ve seen from numerous studies to push hate-filled content on people.”
Social media companies like Facebook, Twitter and Google are not required to share their algorithms with the public.
Julian tabled a bill in Canada’s House of Commons called Bill C-292, also known as the Online Algorithm Transparency Act.
He hopes the legislation could bring changes to social media platforms.
“It will force big tech companies to actually be transparent about the algorithms they use that often benefit this extremism,” said Julian. “It also increases their profit, but it has a profoundly detrimental effect on society.”
Julian says the purpose of the bill is to ensure that online communication service providers do not rely on algorithms that use personal information in a manner that results in adverse treatments of any person or group based on grounds of discrimination. It would also require transparency with its use of the algorithmic processes and content moderation.
Local groups that participated as panel guests included Dalhousie Student Union President Aparna Mohan, Acadia University Associate Professor Kesa Munroe-Anderson, President of the Mulsim Society at Saint Mary’s University Ammar Shakoor and Nova Scotia MLA Lisa Lachance.
The group said that online hate speech increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Munroe-Anderson also noted that online violence has resulted in an increase in hate crimes, with Nova Scotia seeing some of the highest numbers across the country.
“Statistics show that hate crimes rose per one hundred people in Nova Scotia, increased by 70 per cent, the steepest increase in Canada,” said Munroe-Anderson.
With there being a larger move to more online interactions, sociology and social anthropology experts said the number of media sources to engage with increased, which caused people to join groups with certain ideological beliefs, including some that are extreme.
“It’s increasingly leading people to sort of align themselves with niche groups who are taking very particular views on political matters,” said Matthew Gagne, assistant professor at Dalhousie University.
While forcing tech companies to share their algorithms is a step forward, Gagne said it is difficult to know whether or not this will decrease online hate speech.
“We tend to give algorithms a lot of power because they are so obscure to us. We see these algorithms as a black box where we can see inside them so we just use them to describe and explain the changes that are happening,” he said. “It’s just not enough to just go after the algorithm. There’s obviously a whole set of social issues there.”
Nova Scotia was Julian’s first stop to promote his online algorithm transparency bill. Julian will be making stops across the country over the next few months to garner support to pass the legislation.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is pushing for special rapporteur David Johnston to 'step aside' from his role examining the issue of foreign interference before he embarks on public hearings.
New Democrat MP Jenny Kwan said Monday that Canada's spy agency has confirmed her long-held belief she is being targeted by the Chinese government, as the prime minister granted the NDP's wish to allow more party members to review top-secret intelligence.
William Karlsson, William Carrier and Jonathan Marchessault are finally getting another chance in the Stanley Cup Final, after the first one that came so quick for the Vegas Golden Knights.
Eastern Conference finals Most Valuable Player Jimmy Butler scored 28 points, and Caleb Martin had 26 points and 10 rebounds to help the eighth-seeded Miami Heat beat the Celtics 103-84 in Game 7 on Monday night and advance to the NBA Finals for the second time in four seasons.
Canadian political leaders and parliamentarians are denouncing a new law passed in Uganda that imposes harsh penalties, including the death penalty, for certain cases involving homosexuality.
There's a heightened risk of wildfires across the country during what has been one of the earliest fire seasons on record. From British Columbia to Nova Scotia, here's where the risk is highest.
New research from Penn State University found certain factors can contribute to reducing what’s known as the 'urban heat island' effect, and that climate knowledge can contribute to better city planning and design.
One long-time electoral tradition came to an end on election day, when Postmedia announced there would be no printed newspaper announcing the winner in Calgary.
The union representing the majority of Quebec's daycare workers is criticizing the government's decision to launch a skimpy 90-hour training program for people who want to be daycare workers but have no prior experience.
A Quebec driver who caused the death of another motorist when he swerved his truck to avoid hitting a family of ducks on the road has been sentenced to eight months in jail and a three-year driving ban.
Over 170,000 elementary and high school students weighed in on the Alberta election and the NDP had to hope the real voters were listening, because they won the kids' vote.
The body of a Winnipeg boy who fell into Sturgeon Falls on Saturday has been found following a desperate underwater search that lasted more than a day.
A Winnipeg family is asking for help to find their missing teenage son whom they haven't seen since he left for school in the Fort Richmond area last Wednesday morning.
The body of a Winnipeg boy who fell into Sturgeon Falls on Saturday has been found following a desperate underwater search that lasted more than a day.
The Sandy Hill Child Care Centre has an extra two weeks to get its new home up to code months after a fire destroyed its original site on Wilbrod Street.
Ottawa police are praising a local dad for quickly calling for help Sunday afternoon when he accidentally locked his keys in his car, and his infant child along with them.
Ontario Provincial Police say a driver from Augusta Township is facing an impaired driving charge after someone on Highway 416 spotted a vehicle moving erratically.
In a province where there are vast distances between cities and towns, one local group is hoping to get public support for an idea to bridge those gaps with a rail line.
On Monday, Fraser Health provided two senior leaders to address the latest letter outlining risks to patients, allegations of muzzling, and pleas for help from emergency physicians in the health authority's hospitals.
The president of the BC Trucking Association is issuing renewed calls for safety after a trailer truck smashed into an overhead pass Monday morning in Langley.
The first twister of 2023 in the country touched down near Regina over the weekend, according to an analysis from the Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP).
One person from Estevan, Sask. is dead and another is seriously injured following a collision between a pickup truck and a motorcycle on May 28 near Fortuna, North Dakota.
Capital Bike is encouraging Greater Victoria residents to choose cycling as a way to get around the region during "Go By Bike Week," which runs from May 29 to June 4.
