Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak to Bill C-34, the safe social media act. I will be talking about young people, concerned parents and women who are victims of violence online. Social media is part of our lives. It helps us stay connected and keep up with the news. For young people, it is also where friendships are formed and where they try to find their place. I am not saying social media is bad. It has many positive aspects. We also know there are risks, and these risks can sometimes have very serious consequences. A young person can be humiliated in front of their entire school. An intimate photo can be shared without their consent. A child can gain access to content that encourages them to harm themselves. The consequences do not just disappear when we turn off our phones. They follow us to school and home, and sometimes they even keep us awake at night. In Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, and everywhere else in the country, families want their children to be safe. That is only natural. That is why we must take action. A lot of demands are placed on parents today. They have to set limits, understand constantly changing applications and talk about new dangers. Of course, parents play a vital role. No one is saying otherwise. However, we have to be realistic: Parents cannot look at every video and comment. They cannot predict what a platform is going to offer their child the next day. Businesses know how their platforms work. They pick the tools provided and the content recommended. They have to accept their share of responsibility too. Leaving families and victims to fend for themselves is not normal. I would now like to move on to something near and dear to my heart: the protection of women, children and girls. Take a simple example. A young woman shares an intimate photo with someone she trusts. Later on, that photo is sent on to others without her consent. This is a violation of her privacy, even if it follows an argument or separation. Consent matters. Giving someone a photo never amounts to agreeing that it be shown to everyone else. Today, there is another problem to contend with. Artificial intelligence makes it possible to create a fake intimate image. A person’s face can be used to create a photo that was never actually taken. This is called deepfaking. Even if the image is fake, the shame, fear and consequences can be very real. Imagine a teenage girl returning to class the next day, or a woman seeing this image circulating at work. No one should have to go through that. Bill C-34 provides for a swift response to certain types of very serious content. This includes intimate images shared without consent, including sexualized deepfakes. It also includes content related to the sexual exploitation of children. For both of these categories, the bill stipulates that the content must be made inaccessible in Canada within 24 hours of being detected or reported. It also provides a process for appealing the decision. The reason it is so important to be so swift is that an image can cause enormous damage in just a few hours, and the victim should not have to take it upon themselves to remove every copy of that image. We also need to better protect children before problems arise. Today, many young people spend time on platforms that were designed to keep their attention. One video leads to another, then another and another. Even adults sometimes have a hard time stopping, so imagine what this must be like for a child. The bill would require the services in question to look at the risks their platform presents and do what is needed to mitigate those risks. I am thinking of cyber-bullying, attempts at sexual exploitation and content that encourages young people to harm themselves. Children’s safety must be taken into account when the platform is designed. It must not depend solely on a child’s ability to find the right button to ask for help. The bill proposes a rule for some social media platforms. Young people under the age of 16 would not be allowed to have an account. However, I want to clarify. This does not mean that the bill bans all digital tools for all young people. A service can get an exception if they demonstrate that they meet the child protection requirements. This is worth considering. Young people need to talk to their friends. Their personal information needs to be protected and their age needs to be verified. Those are important issues. We need to carefully examine them in committee. To put it simply, if a company wants young users on its platform, it must be able to demonstrate that it is protecting them. We also need to talk about artificial intelligence. Chatbots respond around the clock. They can make people feel like someone is listening, but a digital tool will never replace a loved one, nor can it replace a professional when a person is in distress. Bill C‑34 introduces measures to reduce the risks associated with these services. For example, when a user expresses suicidal thoughts or says they want to harm themselves, the service would be required to direct them to appropriate help. This is an important safeguard, especially for young people and vulnerable individuals. Drafting good regulations is one thing; ensuring compliance is another. The bill would create an independent digital safety commission of Canada tasked with overseeing compliance with the regulations. Platforms would be required to explain the risks and the measures taken to reduce those risks. Financial penalties may apply in cases of non-compliance. When a company’s decisions affect the safety of millions of people, it must be held accountable. I would also like to say a few words about freedom of expression and privacy. These rights are essential. Protecting young people and victims does not mean silencing those who hold different opinions. The bill targets specific categories of harmful content. Private messaging does not fall within its scope. We must remain vigilant about the way in which users’ ages will be verified. The committee’s study will provide an opportunity to hear from parents, young people, experts, and organizations that defend the rights of Canadians. We have to get this right. No law can prevent all problems on the Internet. Parents and schools will always have a role to play. That said, we can do better. We can ask platforms to prevent risks and respond quickly when someone experiences online abuse. I am thinking of the families in Boisbriand, Saint-Eustache, Rosemère, and Deux-Montagnes. They want the same thing as all Canadian families: for their children to grow up and learn in safety. I am also thinking of the women and girls who simply want to live, work and express themselves without fear of being humiliated and intimidated online. For their sake, we must move forward. That is why I support Bill C-34 and am in favour of referring it to committee, where we will have the opportunity to review it, ask the right questions and improve it if necessary.”