It’s one of several measures the government is considering to counter fake news about the virus online<\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/i.cbc.ca\/1.3912105.1484693236!\/fileImage\/httpImage\/image.jpg_gen\/derivatives\/square_140\/elizabeth-thompson.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nElizabeth Thompson<\/a> \u00b7 CBC News \u00b7 Posted: Apr 15, 2020 4:00 AM ET | Last Updated: 2 hours ago<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/i.cbc.ca\/1.4935286.1544122479!\/fileImage\/httpImage\/image.jpg_gen\/derivatives\/16x9_780\/dominic-leblanc.jpg\")
Privy Council President Dominic LeBlanc’s cabinet mandate letter gave him responsibility for fighting online disinformation. (Jessica Rubinger\/CBC News)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe\n federal government is considering introducing legislation to make it an\n offence to knowingly spread misinformation that could harm people, says\n Privy Council President Dominic LeBlanc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
LeBlanc told\n CBC News he is interested in British MP Damian Collins’s call for laws \nto punish those responsible for spreading dangerous misinformation \nonline about the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
LeBlanc\n said he has discussed the matter already with other cabinet ministers, \nincluding Justice Minister David Lametti. If the government decides to \nfollow through, he said, it could take a while to draft legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Legislatures\n and Parliaments are meeting scarcely because of the current context of \nthe pandemic, so it’s not a quick solution, but it’s certainly something\n that we would be open [to] as a government,” said LeBlanc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NDP MP Charlie Angus said he would support legislation to fight online misinformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
‘Cranks … creating havoc’<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
“Extraordinary times require extraordinary measures and it is about protecting the public,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“This\n is not a question of freedom of speech. This is a question of people \nwho are actually actively working to spread disinformation, whether it’s\n through troll bot farms, whether [it’s] state operators or whether it’s\n really conspiracy theorist cranks who seem to get their kicks out of \ncreating havoc.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Opposition Leader Andrew Scheer criticized the idea of using legislation to curb misinformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We’re\n concerned when this government starts talking about free speech \nissues,” Scheer told reporters at a news conference Thursday. “They’ve \ngot a terrible history over the past few years of proposing ideas that \nwould infringe upon free speech.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Any\n time this government starts talking about regulating what people can \nsay and not say, we start off the conversation with a great deal of \nhealthy skepticism,” Scheer added, pointing out that the government has \nchanged its pandemic messaging on travel restrictions and the use of \nmasks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The comments \ncome as governments around the world struggle to curb dangerous \nmisinformation and disinformation circulating about the COVID-19 \npandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Collins, who chaired an international committee on big data, privacy and democracy in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal<\/a>,\n said at the outset of the pandemic that much of the misinformation and \ndisinformation in circulation was promoting fake cures for COVID-19 or \noffering tips on how to avoid catching it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/i.cbc.ca\/1.4586968.1521667880!\/fileImage\/httpImage\/image.JPG_gen\/derivatives\/original_780\/damian-collins.JPG\")
British\n MP Damian Collins is calling for new laws to make it an offence to \nknowingly spread misinformation that can harm people. (Stephanie Jenzer\/CBC)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nMore\n recently, said Collins, the misinformation has shifted to conspiracy \ntheories about what triggered the pandemic \u2014 claims that it was cooked \nup in a lab, for example. A conspiracy theory claiming the disease is \ncaused by 5G wireless signals prompted attacks on wireless towers in the\n U.K.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The British \ngovernment has set up a rapid response team to correct false information\n circulating online. Collins has launched a fact-checking site called Infotagion<\/a>, along with Angus and Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith, among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n‘Maliciously’ spreading lies<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Collins\n is calling for legislation to combat online disinformation, perhaps \nmodelled on Germany’s laws governing online hate speech or France’s \nlegislation countering disinformation during election campaigns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“It’s\n such a serious public emergency that I think for someone to knowingly, \nwillingly and at scale and maliciously spread this content should be an \noffence,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“And\n equally for the tech companies, if it is highlighted to [them] that \nsomeone is doing this and they don’t act against them doing it, then it \nshould be an offence for them to have failed to act \u2014 they would have \nfailed in their duty of care.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prime\n Minister Justin Trudeau’s government set up an elaborate system to \nwatch out for attempts to disrupt last year’s federal election through \ndisinformation, including a committee that brought together several \ndepartments and a special group chaired by the clerk of the Privy \nCouncil to sound the alarm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Opportunistic criminals<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The\n Communications Security Establishment (CSE) has been monitoring what’s \nhappening online during the pandemic, and has helped to remove fake \nsites set up by cybercriminals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Opportunistic\n cyber threat actors are attempting to take advantage of Canadians’ \nheightened levels of concern and legitimate fears around COVID-19,” said\n CSE spokesperson Ryan Foreman. “They are trying to spread \nmisinformation and scam Canadians out of their money or private data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“COVID-19\n has presented cybercriminals and fraudsters with an effective lure to \nencourage victims to visit fake web sites, open email attachments and \nclick on text message links. These emails typically impersonate health \norganizations, and can even pretend to be from the government of \nCanada.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Health Canada \nhas the lead on monitoring for misinformation. For example, it is \nsending compliance letters to companies it finds making false or \nquestionable claims about COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“It’s\n really the Public Health Agency of Canada and Health Canada that have \nbeen, amongst other things, identifying as best as possible some of the \nmore flagrant examples of misinformation, disinformation,” said LeBlanc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last\n week, the Canadian Heritage department announced $3 million in grants \nto eight groups across the country to combat “false and misleading \nCOVID-19 information.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
LeBlanc\n admits that while the government’s previous work leading up to the \nelection made Canadians more aware of online misinformation and \ndisinformation, the structures that it set up were designed with an \nelection campaign in mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I\n think governments around the world were caught, to some extent, by \nsurprise in terms of the rapidity by which the pandemic spread,” LeBlanc\n said, adding that the online misinformation emerged as quickly as the \npandemic itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“So \ngovernments in Canada, and I say governments plural … were forced to \nstand up very quickly a bunch of measures. I think we’ve done, \ncomparatively, in Canada very well.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Angus\n said the speed of COVID-19’s spread left the government without a game \nplan. Now, he said, it should set up a team to fight misinformation \nabout the virus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I \nthink it would be reasonable to enact with the RCMP, with our security \nofficials and some public officials, a team to monitor disinformation \nand have the power to shut it down so it does not interfere with the \nefforts of our frontline medical workers,” said Angus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We need to be taking all measures right now because we don’t know how long we’re going to be in this crisis.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With files from Katie Nicholson and Jason Ho.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nElizabeth Thompson can be reached at elizabeth.thompson@cbc.ca<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Liberals Contemplate A New Law to Outlaw “Misinformation” About Coronavirus The Canadian Association for Free Expression has warned from the beginning of the Coronavirus hysteria that governments would use this as an opportunity for a power grab and to … Continue reading
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nElizabeth Thompson<\/a> \u00b7 CBC News \u00b7 Posted: Apr 15, 2020 4:00 AM ET | Last Updated: 2 hours ago<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\n federal government is considering introducing legislation to make it an\n offence to knowingly spread misinformation that could harm people, says\n Privy Council President Dominic LeBlanc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n LeBlanc told\n CBC News he is interested in British MP Damian Collins’s call for laws \nto punish those responsible for spreading dangerous misinformation \nonline about the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n LeBlanc\n said he has discussed the matter already with other cabinet ministers, \nincluding Justice Minister David Lametti. If the government decides to \nfollow through, he said, it could take a while to draft legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Legislatures\n and Parliaments are meeting scarcely because of the current context of \nthe pandemic, so it’s not a quick solution, but it’s certainly something\n that we would be open [to] as a government,” said LeBlanc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n NDP MP Charlie Angus said he would support legislation to fight online misinformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Extraordinary times require extraordinary measures and it is about protecting the public,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “This\n is not a question of freedom of speech. This is a question of people \nwho are actually actively working to spread disinformation, whether it’s\n through troll bot farms, whether [it’s] state operators or whether it’s\n really conspiracy theorist cranks who seem to get their kicks out of \ncreating havoc.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Opposition Leader Andrew Scheer criticized the idea of using legislation to curb misinformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “We’re\n concerned when this government starts talking about free speech \nissues,” Scheer told reporters at a news conference Thursday. “They’ve \ngot a terrible history over the past few years of proposing ideas that \nwould infringe upon free speech.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Any\n time this government starts talking about regulating what people can \nsay and not say, we start off the conversation with a great deal of \nhealthy skepticism,” Scheer added, pointing out that the government has \nchanged its pandemic messaging on travel restrictions and the use of \nmasks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The comments \ncome as governments around the world struggle to curb dangerous \nmisinformation and disinformation circulating about the COVID-19 \npandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Collins, who chaired an international committee on big data, privacy and democracy in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal<\/a>,\n said at the outset of the pandemic that much of the misinformation and \ndisinformation in circulation was promoting fake cures for COVID-19 or \noffering tips on how to avoid catching it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n More\n recently, said Collins, the misinformation has shifted to conspiracy \ntheories about what triggered the pandemic \u2014 claims that it was cooked \nup in a lab, for example. A conspiracy theory claiming the disease is \ncaused by 5G wireless signals prompted attacks on wireless towers in the\n U.K.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The British \ngovernment has set up a rapid response team to correct false information\n circulating online. Collins has launched a fact-checking site called Infotagion<\/a>, along with Angus and Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith, among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Collins\n is calling for legislation to combat online disinformation, perhaps \nmodelled on Germany’s laws governing online hate speech or France’s \nlegislation countering disinformation during election campaigns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “It’s\n such a serious public emergency that I think for someone to knowingly, \nwillingly and at scale and maliciously spread this content should be an \noffence,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “And\n equally for the tech companies, if it is highlighted to [them] that \nsomeone is doing this and they don’t act against them doing it, then it \nshould be an offence for them to have failed to act \u2014 they would have \nfailed in their duty of care.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Prime\n Minister Justin Trudeau’s government set up an elaborate system to \nwatch out for attempts to disrupt last year’s federal election through \ndisinformation, including a committee that brought together several \ndepartments and a special group chaired by the clerk of the Privy \nCouncil to sound the alarm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\n Communications Security Establishment (CSE) has been monitoring what’s \nhappening online during the pandemic, and has helped to remove fake \nsites set up by cybercriminals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Opportunistic\n cyber threat actors are attempting to take advantage of Canadians’ \nheightened levels of concern and legitimate fears around COVID-19,” said\n CSE spokesperson Ryan Foreman. “They are trying to spread \nmisinformation and scam Canadians out of their money or private data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “COVID-19\n has presented cybercriminals and fraudsters with an effective lure to \nencourage victims to visit fake web sites, open email attachments and \nclick on text message links. These emails typically impersonate health \norganizations, and can even pretend to be from the government of \nCanada.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Health Canada \nhas the lead on monitoring for misinformation. For example, it is \nsending compliance letters to companies it finds making false or \nquestionable claims about COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “It’s\n really the Public Health Agency of Canada and Health Canada that have \nbeen, amongst other things, identifying as best as possible some of the \nmore flagrant examples of misinformation, disinformation,” said LeBlanc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last\n week, the Canadian Heritage department announced $3 million in grants \nto eight groups across the country to combat “false and misleading \nCOVID-19 information.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n LeBlanc\n admits that while the government’s previous work leading up to the \nelection made Canadians more aware of online misinformation and \ndisinformation, the structures that it set up were designed with an \nelection campaign in mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I\n think governments around the world were caught, to some extent, by \nsurprise in terms of the rapidity by which the pandemic spread,” LeBlanc\n said, adding that the online misinformation emerged as quickly as the \npandemic itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “So \ngovernments in Canada, and I say governments plural … were forced to \nstand up very quickly a bunch of measures. I think we’ve done, \ncomparatively, in Canada very well.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Angus\n said the speed of COVID-19’s spread left the government without a game \nplan. Now, he said, it should set up a team to fight misinformation \nabout the virus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I \nthink it would be reasonable to enact with the RCMP, with our security \nofficials and some public officials, a team to monitor disinformation \nand have the power to shut it down so it does not interfere with the \nefforts of our frontline medical workers,” said Angus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “We need to be taking all measures right now because we don’t know how long we’re going to be in this crisis.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n With files from Katie Nicholson and Jason Ho.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Elizabeth Thompson can be reached at elizabeth.thompson@cbc.ca<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Liberals Contemplate A New Law to Outlaw “Misinformation” About Coronavirus The Canadian Association for Free Expression has warned from the beginning of the Coronavirus hysteria that governments would use this as an opportunity for a power grab and to … Continue reading ‘Cranks … creating havoc’<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
‘Maliciously’ spreading lies<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Opportunistic criminals<\/h2>\n\n\n\n