The parliamentary “study” so far has been completely void of any actual study. Its two meetings have both had absolutely zero content or witnesses discussed. It seems as though the Conservative party (perhaps with the compliance of the NDP and Bloc) are filibustering the ENTIRE study. No experts are being called, despite numerous witnesses appearing in the Senate with excellent points about the dangers of the Bill for young people, women, 2SLGBTQ+ folks, and all Canadians. There are still gaping holes in the piece of legislation that stands to change the way the internet works in Canada.

For those unaware, Bill S-210 will require any internet service (including pornhub but also Google, Twitter, Reddit, Facebook, Instagram, etc) that could possibly have even a nipple on it to implement age verification measures for all its users in Canada.

But we’re not just talking about a little check-box. Age verification technologies, like what is offered by Yoti, (a member of the Age Verification Providers Association who lobbied and continue to push for the bill), are invasive in a way that would make Facebook’s privacy policy blush.

The required method of age verification aren’t specified in the bill, but the products that exist out on the market verify users’ ages in one of two principle ways: submission of an official identification document like a passport or driver’s license to the age verification service followed by facial recognition per session, or by facial recognition-based age estimation.

You can read more about how the bill was founded on anti-2SLGBTQ, anti-choice, and anti-women rhetoric here.

If an online service does not use an approved age verification method, that service can be blocked from access at the ISP level. A nipple on Google? No Canadian would be able to access ANY part of Google’s services unless they implemented these invasive age verification systems.

There’s little evidence that this arrangement will even keep young people from viewing sexually explicit material, and there is no mention of the need for comprehensive sex education – again leaving young people high and dry. And the tech will collect facial data of young people as they attempt to “beat” it.

Australia most recently opted out of mandating age verification tech precisely because it poses far too great a privacy and security risk to Australians. Instead, they suggest media literacy and sex education programming coupled with parental control education for concerned parents. I fully agree with this highly sensible and scientifically-backed strategy.

France and Germany have had age verification laws in place for years, though neither country has successfully blocked an online service owing to ongoing court battles. France’s age verification laws are even unenforceable because no age verification technology exists that actually works and does not violate the country’s privacy laws!

American age verification laws are now even starting to label “homosexual” behaviour online as pornographic and required to be age-gated. This isn’t just about keeping hardcore porn from kids (which no one could really disagree with). It’s about so much more. Shutting down the bill’s study means we don’t get that nuance, we don’t get to point out the vast chasms that can be abused by lawmakers, and we don’t get a say in our democracy.

The best thing you can do is write a brief.