When U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart was asked to describe his test for obscenity in 1964, he became famous for his response: “I know it when I see it.”
Could a similar test be true for hate speech? That’s the question some are asking over the federal government’s proposed Online Harms Act.
The act, which was introduced in Parliament in February, will hold online platforms like Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) accountable for the content that foments hatred, incites violence or promotes extremism or terrorism. It will also require them to actively reduce the risk of exposure to harmful content.
But just as people have long debated Stewart’s view about what constitutes obscenity, Canadian religious groups are asking what will constitute hate speech in the act, who gets to decide what it is, and whether the Act is the best way to address it.
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