The Liberal government of Canada has declared that online hate speech will be become a criminal punishable by up to $20,000 (approximately $16,250 US) for the first offence and $50,000 (about $40,600 US) for the second. The idea would penalize social media users who broke the law, but it would protect social media corporations that host illegal content from punishment.
The announcement comes after a 20-year-old man rammed his truck into a family of five in Ontario, killing everyone save a 9-year-old child in an anti-Muslim terror assault, according to Canadian authorities.
During a virtual news conference on Wednesday that was live streamed on YouTube, Canada’s Attorney General David Lametti told Canadians that the proposed law would not target “mere expressions of dislike or scorn.”
