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Online harms tribunal only aimed at ‘extreme’ forms of hate speech: Liberals

Civil liberties groups and legal experts concerned about law’s potential chill on free speech
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Justice Minister Arif Virani holds a press conference on the new online harms bill on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024. Government officials say online hate speech would have to portray a group as “inherently violent” or “unhuman” to meet the threshold to be probed by a human-rights tribunal under a newly proposed law. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Government officials say online hate speech would have to portray a group as “inherently violent” or “unhuman” to meet the threshold for investigation by a human-rights tribunal under a newly proposed law.

Justice officials briefed reporters Wednesday about Criminal Code provisions in the government’s new bill to tackle online harms, known as Bill C-63.

The changes have come under harsh criticism from civil liberties groups and legal experts who are voicing concerns about the potential chill on free speech.

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