Tell Tory MP To Take Her 'Internet Control' Bill And Bugger Off
"A federal private member's bill that would grant the government new powers while imposing restrictions and penalties on Internet users and operators is off base, Internet experts say.
Joy Smith, a Conservative MP representing Kildonan-St. Paul, on Thursday introduced her proposed clean Internet act, or Bill C-427, for first reading in Parliament.
The bill's full name is: "An act to prevent the use of the Internet to distribute child pornography, material that advocates, promotes or incites racial hatred, and material that portrays or promotes violence against women."
The bill's provisions would grant the Industry Minister special powers to search data as well as the ability to order an Internet service provider to block access to content deemed inappropriate."
CBC.ca
Laws sufficient to control child pornography already exist on the Canadian law books. This proposed bill is a piece of political grandstanding if I ever saw one.
I also am QUITE concerned that Canada's Industry Minister would be responsible for monitoring data on offending sites.
Is Industry Canada tagged with being the Internet Police for Stephen Harper's government?
Canadians should see that we have no need for this kind of legislation. Right wingers are always about controlling the lives of Canadian citizens. Tell MP Joy Smith to leave the internet alone.!
This would be yet another wannabe Rethuglican trying to make Canada's laws look more like the States...in all their ineffectual glory.
Posted by MgS | 4:54 pm, April 22, 2007
Agreed .. If the feds wanted to do something about online child porn - and face it, everyone (left, right and centre) finds this stuff sick, then there should be a national program to massively increase online policing and enforcement of existing laws.
Having some Tory department able to spy on internet users scares the crap outa me - because there is always the ability for them to monitor those they don't like politically .... (and there are a few of us)...
Posted by leftdog | 4:58 pm, April 22, 2007
Someone needs to sit down and explain to her what proxy servers are. Any kid can get around firewalls in high schools.
This is all sound and fury signifying nothing.
As far as enforcing laws, where I would spend money is on enforcing parole conditions on sex criminals. The cops that do that are underfunded and understaffed. Just my suggestion.
Posted by Dan | 5:49 pm, April 22, 2007
Dan: But that would actually result in something being accomplished, rather than providing further grandstanding opportunities.
Moreover, in the Cons' world, any money put into parole services is likely to be spun as "spending on criminals". Remember that their criminal justice philosophy is that it's better to simply keep offenders locked up as strictly as possible for as long as possible, rather than integrating them through a supervised rehabilitation period.
Posted by Greg Fingas | 9:51 pm, April 22, 2007