Trudeau’s internet censorship bill advances to final reading in Canadian Senate

Bill #C11 is bad legislation. It’s paternalistic, will blunt the success of 🇨🇦 creators & control what you consume online; all while protecting the status quo where gatekeepers & corporate broadcasters cash in while creators have to come with cap in hand.https://t.co/daJaPoeeIq

— Senator Leo Housakos (@SenatorHousakos) October 25, 2022

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s much-maligned internet censorship Bill C-11 came one step closer to becoming law after passing second reading in Canada’s Senate Tuesday.

In a 49-19 vote, Canadian senators decided to push forward the controversial bill which has been called a “power grab over human communications” by industry experts.

Another Conservative senator, Denise Batters, noted that only two Trudeau-appointed senators voted against the bill.

Out of the 19 senators who voted NO to Bill #C11 at 2nd Reading, only 2 of those senators were appointed by PM Trudeau: Senators Black and Richards.

I was proud to join all #CPC senators present who voted NO to this awful Trudeau Government Bill C-11.#SenCA #KillBillC11 https://t.co/8pGorOJOZz

— Sen. Denise Batters (@denisebatters) October 25, 2022

Dr. Michael Geist blasted the bill as allowing the government’s broadcast regulator, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), a “virtually limitless reach” in what is deemed acceptable or not for programming.

Earlier in the year, the former head of the CRTC, Timothy Denton, said the bill should be shunned.

Critics have longed warned that Bill C-11 will stifle free speech online because it would classify YouTube videos, most of which are content-creator made, subject to regulation under the CRTC.

Bill C-11 is accompanied by another piece of pending legislation Bill C-18, which together would regulate the internet by forcing Big Tech companies to promoted selected media outlets based on a special designation given by the federal government...

Bill C-11 has likewise been blasted by the official opposition, the Conservative Party of Canada, as opening the door to allow more government control of free speech through potentially draconian regulations.