Redline Comparison of S-209 and S-210
Bills S-209Footnote 1 and S-210Footnote 2
An Act to restrict young persons’ online access to sexually explicit pornographic material
Preamble
Whereas sexually explicit pornographic material — including demeaning material and material depicting sexual violence — can be easily accessed on the Internet by young persons;
Whereas a significant proportion of the sexually explicit pornographic material accessed online is made available on the Internet for commercial purposes — in particular through pornographic websites — and is not protected by any effective age-verification or age-estimation method;
Whereas the consumption of sexually explicit pornographic material by young persons is associated with a range of serious harms, including the development of pornography addiction, the reinforcement of gender stereotypes and the development of attitudes favourable to harassment and violence — including sexual harassment and sexual violence — particularly against women;
Whereas Parliament recognizes that the harmful effects of the increasing accessibility of sexually explicit pornographic material online for young persons are an important public health and public safety concern;
Whereas online age-verification and age-estimation technology is increasingly sophisticated and can now effectively ascertain the age of users without breaching their privacy rights;
And whereas any organization making sexually explicit pornographic material available on the Internet for commercial purposes has a responsibility to ensure that it is not accessed by young persons;
Now, therefore, His Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:
Short Title
Short title
1 This Act may be cited as the Protecting Young Persons from Exposure to Pornography Act.
Interpretation
Definitions
2 The following definitions apply in this Act.
Internet service provider means a person who that provides Internet access, Internet content hosting or electronic mail. (fournisseur de services Internet)
making available includes transmitting, distributing or selling. (rendre accessible)
Minister means the minister designated under section 3. (ministre)
organization has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Criminal Code. (organisation)
pornographic material means any photographic, film, video or other visual representation, whether or not it was made by electronic or mechanical means, the dominant characteristic of which is the depiction, for a sexual purpose, of a person’s genital organs or anal region or, if the person is female, her breasts, but does not include child pornography as defined in subsection 163.1(1) of the Criminal Code. (matériel pornographique)
prescribed means prescribed by regulations. (Version anglaise seulement)
sexually explicit material means sexually explicit material as defined for the purpose of subsection 171.1(1) of the Criminal Code. (matériel sexuellement explicite)
young person means an individual who is under 18 years of age. (jeune)
Designation of Minister
Order designating Minister
3 The Governor in Council may, by order, designate any federal minister as the Minister responsible for this Act.
Purpose
Purpose
4 The purpose of this Act is to protect public health and public safety and, in particular, to
(a) protect the mental health of young persons by restricting their access to sexually explicit pornographic material;
(b) protect Canadians — in particular, young persons and women — from the harmful effects of the exposure of young persons to sexually explicit material, including demeaning material and material depicting sexual violence; and
(c) deter organizations that make sexually explicit material available on the Internet for commercial purposes from allowing young persons to access that material.
Offence
Making sexually explicit pornographic material available to a young person
5 Any organization that, for commercial purposes, makes available sexually explicit pornographic material on the Internet to a young person is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and is liable,
(a) for a first offence, to a fine of not more than $250,000; and
(b) for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not more than $500,000.
Clarification — commercial purpose
6 For greater certainty, for the purpose of section 5, an organization that incidentally and not deliberately provides a service that is used to search for, transmit, download, store or access content on the Internet that is alleged to constitute pornographic material does not make available pornographic material on the Internet for commercial purposes.
Defence — age verification or age estimation
76 (1) It is not a defence to a charge under section 5 that the organization believed that the young person referred to in that section was at least 18 years of age unless the organization implemented a prescribed age-verification or age-estimation method to limit access to the sexually explicit pornographic material made available for commercial purposes to individuals who are at least 18 years of age.
Defence — legitimate purpose
(2) No organization shall be convicted of an offence under section 5 if the act that is alleged to constitute the offence has a legitimate purpose related to science, medicine, education or the arts.
Defence — compliance with notice
(3) No organization shall be convicted of an offence under section 5 if, in relation to the act that is alleged to constitute the offence, the organization has received notice under section 98 and has taken the steps referred to in paragraph 98(2)(c) within the period set out in paragraph 98(2)(d).
Non-Compliance Notice
Designation
87 The Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Minister, designate an agency, division or branch of the Government of Canada as the enforcement authority for the purposes of sections 8 and 9.
Notice
98 (1) If the enforcement authority has reasonable grounds to believe that an organization committed an offence under section 5, the enforcement authority may issue a notice to them under this section.
Content of notice
(2) The notice must state
(a) the identity of the organization;
(b) that the enforcement authority has reasonable grounds to believe that the organization has committed an offence under section 5;
(c) the steps that the enforcement authority considers necessary to ensure compliance with this Act;
(d) that the organization must, within 20 days after the notice is issued, take the steps referred to in paragraph (c);
(e) that, if the organization fails to take the steps referred to in paragraph (c) within the period set out in paragraph (d), the enforcement authority may apply to the Federal Court for an order requiring Internet service providers to prevent access to the sexually explicit pornographic material to young persons on the Internet in Canada; and
(f) that the organization may make representations to the enforcement authority in relation to any element of the notice within the period set out in paragraph (d).
Application to Federal Court
109 (1) If an organization that receives a notice under subsection 98(1) fails to take the steps referred to in paragraph 98(2)(c) within the period set out in paragraph 98(2)(d), the enforcement authority may, within 20 days after the day on which the period ended, apply to the Federal Court for an order requiring Internet service providers to prevent access to the sexually explicit pornographic material to young persons on the Internet in Canada.
Respondent
(2) The enforcement authority that applies for an order under subsection (1) must name, in addition to the non-complying organization, any Internet service provider who would be subject to the order as a respondent to the proceedings.
Hearing in summary way
(3) An application made under subsection (1) is to be heard and determined in a summary way in accordance with any special rules made in respect of such application under section 46 of the Federal Courts Act.
Order
(4) The Federal Court must order any respondent Internet service providers to prevent access to the sexually explicit pornographic material to young persons on the Internet in Canada if it determines that
(a) there are reasonable grounds to believe that the organization that has been given notice under subsection 98(1) has committed the offence referred to in section 5;
(b) that organization has failed to take the steps referred to in paragraph 98(2)(c) within the period set out in paragraph 98(2)(d); and
(c) the services provided by the Internet service providers who would be subject to the order may be used, in Canada, to access the sexually explicit pornographic material made available by that organization.
Effect of order
(5) If the Federal Court determines that it is necessary to ensure that the sexually explicit pornographic material is not made available to young persons on the Internet in Canada, an order made under subsection (4) may have the effect of preventing persons in Canada from being able to access
(a) material other than sexually explicit pornographic material made available by the organization that has been given notice under subsection 98(1); or
(b) sexually explicit pornographic material made available by the organization that has been given notice under subsection 98(1) even if the person seeking to access the material is not a young person.
Annual Report to Parliament
Annual report
110 The Minister must cause to be tabled in each House of Parliament, within three months after the end of the fiscal year or, if a House is not then sitting, on any of the first 15 days on which that House next sits, a report on the administration and implementation of this Act. The report must include, for the previous fiscal year,
(a) the number of notices issued under subsection 98(1);
(b) the number of applications for an order made under subsection 109(1); and
(c) the outcome of applications made pursuant to subsection 109 (1).
Regulations
Regulations
121 (1) The Governor in Council may make regulations for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Act, including regulations
(a) specifying the circumstances in which pornographic material is or is not to be regarded as made available for commercial purposes, including circumstances in which pornographic material made available free of charge is or is not to be regarded as made available for commercial purposes; and
(b) prescribing the age-verification and age-estimation methods referred to in subsection 76(1).
Age-verification and age-estimation methods
(2) Before prescribing any age-verification or age-estimation method under subsection paragraph (1)(b), the Governor in Council must consider whether ensure that the method
(a) is reliable highly effective;
(b) is operated by a third-party organization that deals at arm’s length from any organization making pornographic material available on the Internet for commercial purposes;
(c) maintains user privacy and protects user personal information;
(dc) collects and uses personal information solely for age-verification or age-estimation purposes, except to the extent required by law;
(e) limits the collection of personal information to what is strictly necessary for the age verification or age estimation;
(fd) destroys any personal information collected for age-verification or age-estimation purposes once the verification or estimation is completed; and
(ge) generally complies with best practices in the fields of age verification and age estimation, as well as privacy protection.
Coordinating Amendment
13 On the first day on which both this Act and An Act to amend the Criminal Code and to make consequential amendments to other Acts (child sexual abuse and exploitation material)Footnote 3 are in force, the definition of pornographic material in section 2 of this Act is replaced with the following:
pornographic material means any photographic, film, video or other visual representation, whether or not it was made by electronic or mechanical means, the dominant characteristic of which is the depiction, for a sexual purpose, of a person’s genital organs or anal region or, if the person is female, her breasts, but does not include material that is child sexual abuse and exploitation material as defined in subsection 163.1(1) of the Criminal Code. (matériel pornographique)
Coming into Force
One year after royal assent
142 This Act comes into force on the first anniversary of the day on which it receives royal assent.
- Date modified: