Protecting Children from Internet Predators Act

rdf:langString Protecting Children from Internet Predators Act

rdf:langString at First Reading

rdf:langString An Act to Enact the Investigating and Preventing Criminal Electronic Communications Act and to amend the Criminal Code and other Acts

rdf:langString Protecting Children from Internet Predators Act

rdf:langString The Protecting Children from Internet Predators Act (officially titled Bill C-30, originally titled Lawful Access Act) was a proposed amendment to the Criminal Code introduced by the Conservative government of Stephen Harper on February 14, 2012, during the 41st Canadian Parliament. The bill would have granted authorities new powers to monitor and track the digital activities of Canadians in real-time, required service providers to log information about their customers and turn it over if requested, and made back door entrances mandatory allowing remote access of individuals' electronic information, each without needing a warrant Documents obtained under the Access to Information Act show that the government desired to use the expanded powers in cases not involving criminality. The bill did not mention children, or internet predators, other than in its title; critics claimed the "feel-good name" was unrelated to the content of the bill, and chosen simply to "sell legislation to the public". Critics claimed that authorities would likely use the powers to harass peaceful protestors and activists. The bill was widely opposed within Canada, particularly after Public Safety Minister Vic Toews told an opposition MP that he could "either stand with us or with the child pornographers" during a debate. The government ultimately withdrew the bill in 2013, citing that opposition. Similar legislation had been unsuccessfully proposed in the past, by both the Liberal and Conservative parties in Canada, and mirrored legislation introduced in other countries. This bill, however, was re-introduced under the name Bill C-13 (short titled Protecting Canadians from Online Crime Act) by Stephen Harper's Conservative government on November 20, 2013 and it passed through all legislative stages to receive royal assent on December 9, 2014.