Mr. Freedom’s war against the gatekeepers apparently comes with a few stipulations. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who is currently railing against this government’s efforts to regulate and police the internet with its new online harms legislation, seems to believe the government should regulate and police the internet – just as long as it’s over an issue that appeals to his base. Fire (select) gatekeepers. Down with big government (sometimes). End (some) state overreach.
Mr. Freedom’s fickleness has revealed itself over the issue of youth access to online pornography, which he believes is a matter of concern for federal legislators. Last week, Mr. Poilievre was asked whether he supports Bill S-210, a bill brought forward by independent Senator Julie Miville-Dechêne, that would force porn websites to verify the ages of their users, or else, be subject to penalties. Mr. Poilievre replied simply, “Yes.”
Shortly thereafter, a spokesperson for Mr. Poilievre said that the Conservatives “do not support any measures that would allow the imposition of a digital ID or infringe on the privacy of adults and their freedom to access legal content online.”
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Canadians are to infer, then, that Mr. Poilievre believes that porn sites operating in Canada should be legally obliged to verify the ages of their users, but that they should not use any methods to verify the ages of its users. Got it? (As an aside: there’s a guy who tends to talk out of both sides of his mouth like this, as Mr. Poilievre is typically quick to point out. It seems the Conservative Leader is auditioning for his job in more ways than one.)
This type of age-verification legislation is a nightmare from a security and privacy perspective. Adults who want to access online pornography will have to offer up some kind of proof – a driver’s licence, perhaps, or submit to biometric scanning – and trust that the website they’re visiting, or third-party operator collecting the information, will keep their data secure.
That collection of data will be an absolute treasure trove of blackmail material for hackers or other malevolent actors, who will not hesitate to release personal information if motivated for one reason or another. Scammers will also have a great new way to collect information from the more credulous among us by setting up phishing sites masquerading as porn sites and requesting personal information for “age verification purposes.” All the while, motivated teens will easily be able to circumvent any Canadian barriers to access by using a virtual private network, or VPN.
What will likely happen when and if this legislation passes in Canada is that the big porn players, such as Pornhub, will simply block access to Canadian users. That’s what the company did in a handful of states – including Utah, Mississippi and about a dozen others – after they passed age-verification legislation similar to what is under consideration in Canada. (Australia backed away from implementing its own legislation after finding the verification technology to be too “immature,” and noting the considerable privacy and security risks.) Pornhub’s withdrawal would leave a vacuum to be filled with smaller, non-compliant websites or hosting services that may not verify the age of those who upload content (which Pornhub started doing in 2020).
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This is not to suggest that teens should have unbridled access to online porn. There’s plenty of research that suggests that early and/or frequent exposure to online pornography may negatively affect children’s behaviour, sexual experiences and expectations, confidence and self-esteem. But the solution isn’t for big government to swoop in and require consenting adults to get out their driver’s licences every time they want to engage in some solitary adult entertainment – particularly considering the massive security concerns, and the fact that the legislation simply won’t achieve what it is designed to do. Horny teenagers always find a way. What makes Mr. Poilievre think that the government is better poised than their parents to slow them down?
Unless I was mistaken, I was under the impression that the Conservatives were the guys forever raging about legislation that curtails online freedoms. The ones who claim that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his ilk are too blasé about state overreach, too eager to propose big-government solutions to complex problems, and that the Liberals are the ones who back pointless legislation that targets law-abiding Canadians for the sake of political posturing. But apparently, they have granted themselves an exception on this file.
Mr. Freedom wants to moonlight as Mr. Online Police. And like every good police officer stopping you as you go about your business, he’ll need to see your driver’s licence.
Robyn Urback