Canada Policies Affecting Disinformation

Legislation

There are currently no laws that directly combat the dissemination of "fake news", but there are laws against making false statements about electoral candidates.

Canada has vowed that it would create similar legislation to that of Australia, which requires tech companies to pay for news media content that is shared on their websites.

Government Actions Against Disinformation

In January of 2019, the Canadian government prepared for election misinformation in the fall through a variety of means. A key element was the “Critical Election Incident Public Protocol” that endeavors to monitor for disinformation and to notify other agencies and the public about circulating disinformation.

The government called on social media platforms to contribute more to combatting disinformation. The government has also passed an amendment to the Canada Elections Act, which compels tech companies to be more transparent about their anti-disinformation and advertisement policies.

The Canadian government pledged $7 million towards combatting disinformation and raising public awareness. They have also launched a digital charter which states: “the Government of Canada will defend freedom of expression and protect against online threats and disinformation designed to undermine the integrity of elections and democratic institutions.”

Furthermore, the Digital Citizen Research Program initiative was created "to help Canadians and the Government understand online disinformation and its impact on Canadian society, and in turn build an evidence-base to identify potential action and develop future policy-making.

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National Policies Affecting Disinformation