The Liberal government’s internet censorship bill will be before the House of Commons next week after being amended in the Senate.
Instead of seeing and watching the content you choose, Bill C-11 will give the government the authority to control what you can see and watch online and through streaming services.
This bill is problematic in many ways, but let me name a few key reasons C-11 needs to be stopped.
First, this is an unacceptable attempt by the Liberals to target the freedoms of individual internet users in Canada.
Passing Bill C-11 would enable the Liberals to amplify voices it deems favourable and quiet those it does not.
Justin Trudeau should not be able to control what Canadians see on their playlist or on their Netflix account. Canadians can decide for themselves what they want to watch or listen to.
Second, home-grown talent and Canadian creative content will no longer succeed based on merit. Content will be subject to a set of criteria that bureaucrats in Ottawa will use to determine its level of “Canadian-ness.”
The Liberals have tried to brush away these concerns by claiming that the bill would “level the playing field” for Canadian content creators. But in reality, the opposite is true.
By forcing platforms like Youtube and Spotify to favour nationality over engagement, online creators in Canada will have their ability to reach global audiences limited. This would result in fewer views and demoted content.
Conservatives in the House and the Senate fought and tried to amend C-11 to narrow its scope and fully exempt the content Canadians post on social media. The Liberal-NDP coalition rejected those amendments.
Now, the only good option is to defeat the bill to protect free speech for Canadians. I encourage every Canadian to contact their Liberal or NDP MPs and tell them to kill Bill C-11.