Net neutrality prevents CRTC from ordering ISPs verify age online: CRTC to Senate

The CRTC cannot direct internet service providers (ISPs) to implement age verification techniques on pornographic websites in Canada, because the regulator must adhere to the principles of net neutrality – the concept that all traffic on the internet should be given equal treatment by ISPs – according to the commission’s chief of consumer, research and communications. Wednesday evening Scott Hutton spoke to the Senate’s Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs as it studied Bill S-210, an act to restrict young persons’ online access to sexually explicit material. Bill S-210 would enable designated enforcement authorities to take steps to prevent sexually explicit material from being made available to youth on the internet in Canada. Last month the committee heard from stakeholders who said that blocking pornographic websites in Canada that do not comply with age verification requirements could result in the over-blocking of legitimate websites. “While we support the aims of the proposed legislation, the CRTC does not currently have such authority,” Hutton told the Senate committee. "ISPs should not manipulate, discriminate or give preference to the content that passes through their networks.” According to Hutton, the Telecommunications Act does not clearly provide for the regulation of content with respect to ISPs, as the commission’s powers were “designed with the traditional broadcasting system in mind.” He said if Bill C-11 – the Online Streaming Act which is currently at second reading in the House of Commons – passes, the CRTC will be given “three key elements” it was missing to regulate certain platforms online: the clarity of jurisdiction; the ability to gather data; and the necessary enforcement tools. However, he argued, those enhanced powers would not necessarily translate into enforced age verification. “Even if the CRTC were given the power to order ISPs to verify the appropriateness of the content passing through their network, it may not be technically feasible for them to implement an age verification system,” he argued to the committee. Hutton argued that, from an ISP’s perspective, implementing age verification for certain types of content but not other types of content can be difficult and that there will also be differences in enforceability from foreign ISPs. RCMP officer André Boileau, who is in charge of the National Child Exploitation Crime Centre, also noted to the committee that VPNs could be put in place which are already being “greatly used” to go undetected for both illegal and legal purposes. Boileau also spoke before the committee, noting that it is already an offence to transmit, make available, distribute, or sell sexually explicit material to a child for the purposes of facilitating sexual and exploitative offences against the child. “This is not the case in the context of a child coming across adult pornography online,” Boileau said. He said the National Child Exploitation Crime Centre does not investigate matters related to sexually explicit material beyond the scope of online child sexual exploitation. When asked, Boileau said he could not speculate on what the role of the RCMP, or other agencies in Canada, would be in enforcing the bill should it pass, because there is no indication as to how the legislation would be applied. Hutton said a single solution will not address the issue, when asked what solutions the CRTC would recommend to restrict young persons’ online access to sexually explicit material. He said that there should be collaboration with multiple parties "on different fronts of the RCMP, public safety, and even other departments of law enforcement. But there's also very much a public education issue that needs to be addressed and dealt with,” he said. Senator Howard Wetston told Hutton it sounded like the CRTC was adopting a “wait and see” approach and that it “is not prepared to take the step forward in this area.” He said the CRTC could at least present a series of policy statements or guidelines, in consultation with the ISPs, to get the industry to agree to join in an effort to limit youths' exposure to sexually explicit material online. Hutton replied that the Supreme Court “made it very clear” that ISPs are “clearly telecom providers” and guidelines on content do not fall under the authority of the current Telecommunications Act. “We have been working and studying and we have been certainly calling upon government for the need to modernize our authorities to be able to fully deal with these issues in a proper manner. The CRTC is quite supportive of the concept behind Bill C-11 that is currently before the House and that will come hopefully before the Senate for consideration in due course,” Hutton said. – Reporting by Jenna Cocullo at jcocullo@thewirereport.ca and editing by Michael Lee-Murphy at mleemurphy@thewirereport.ca

Net neutrality prevents CRTC from ordering ISPs verify age online: CRTC to Senate

Broadcast | March 3, 2022

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Net neutrality prevents CRTC from ordering ISPs verify age online: CRTC to Senate

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