Canadians want online hate and racism curbed, even at cost of freedom of speech, poll finds
Most Canadians want the government and social media companies to do more to curtail hateful and racist behaviour online even if it diminishes freedom of speech and privacy, according to a national opinion survey.
The poll found a majority of respondents believed hateful and racist online content has increased over the past few years. Of daily social media users, 55 per cent said they have seen or experienced racist content online; 50 per cent sexist content; 46 per cent homophobic content; 46 per cent physical threats and 26 per cent sexual harassment.
© Provided by National Post The poll found broad support for ideas such as requiring social media companies to inform police of serious hate speech.
The findings add to fraught debates over free speech and censorship, the power of Big Tech, the boundary between opinions and abuse, and how best to maintain free speech in an omnipresent online world.
The poll was commissioned by the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, a Crown corporation, and conducted by Abacus Data, an Ottawa-based public opinion research firm that surveyed 2,000 randomly selected Canadian residents from January 15 to 18.
By a two-to-one margin, respondents were more worried about online hate speech than they were about restrictions on freedom of speech and privacy protection.
Respondents were asked: “When it comes to regulating hate speech online, which of the following comes closest to your view?” They were given two options.
“I worry more about the impact of hate speech and racism on people it harms and the impact on society overall than on limits to people’s freedom of speech or protecting privacy,” was selected by 69 per cent of respondents.
Thirty-one percent of respondents selected: “I worry more about governments and social media companies being able to limit the rights of citizens to express themselves and protecting the privacy of users than the impact of hateful or racist behaviour online.”
The view was widely supported across demographics, according to the Abacus data, including all age groups and genders. The largest split on the sentiment was along ideological lines.
Of those describing their politics as being on the left, 81 per cent said they were more worried about hate speech and racism than limiting freedom of speech; 70 per cent of those describing their views as in the centre chose the same option, as did 50 per cent of those describing their politics as being on the right.
Further, 60 per cent of all respondents said the Canadian government should be doing more to prevent the spread of hateful and racist content online; 17 per cent rejected that idea and 23 per cent said they weren’t sure.
The idea of government intervention was rejected by eight per cent of the left, 15 per cent of the centre, and 38 per cent of the right.
Overall, almost all respondents believed online hateful and racist content is a problem in Canada: 49 per cent described it as a big problem, 44 per cent as a minor problem, and seven per cent as not a problem.
“Hate speech and racism are things that have always been with us, but social media platforms allow them to be disseminated under the veil of anonymity to much wider audiences,” said Mohammed Hashim, executive director of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation. “The fact that most Canadians see this as a problem is all the more reason why our government needs to make online hate speech regulation a policy priority,” he said.
The survey was done independently, and the government was not informed or consulted in its creation, he said.
That wide swaths of the Canadian public said they support government and tech companies being more interventionist isn’t surprising but should also be concerning, said Cara Zwibel, director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association’s Fundamental Freedoms Program.
“The tension between protecting freedom of expression and making sure that people are not subject to discrimination or hate are conflicts that have existed for a long time but have a different kind of scope and urgency because of the internet,” she said.
“This is a really complicated issue and I’m apprehensive of what the government is planning and what approach it might take.”
There can be nuance to unpopular opinion versus something seen as hateful, and the view may be different in a courtroom than on social media, she said.
“I don’t dispute that online expression can result in real-world harm. I do think it is a really tricky area to effectively regulate without potentially causing a lot of unintended damage,” Zwibel said.
The poll floated ideas on how to respond to online hate, and found broad support for each of them.
Ideas included: Requiring social media companies to quickly remove racist or hateful content when it is identified; requiring social media companies to inform police of serious hate speech; strengthening laws to hold perpetrators accountable for what they do online; increasing police training and resources to deal with online hate; and requiring social media companies to reveal the identity of users who spread hateful or racist material.
Any substantive move by government to impose restrictions on internet communications would undoubtedly be challenged in court as an infringement of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The poll found a majority of respondents believed hateful and racist online content has increased over the past few years. Of daily social media users, 55 per cent said they have seen or experienced racist content online; 50 per cent sexist content; 46 per cent homophobic content; 46 per cent physical threats and 26 per cent sexual harassment.
The findings add to fraught debates over free speech and censorship, the power of Big Tech, the boundary between opinions and abuse, and how best to maintain free speech in an omnipresent online world.
The poll was commissioned by the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, a Crown corporation, and conducted by Abacus Data, an Ottawa-based public opinion research firm that surveyed 2,000 randomly selected Canadian residents from January 15 to 18.
By a two-to-one margin, respondents were more worried about online hate speech than they were about restrictions on freedom of speech and privacy protection.
Respondents were asked: “When it comes to regulating hate speech online, which of the following comes closest to your view?” They were given two options.
“I worry more about the impact of hate speech and racism on people it harms and the impact on society overall than on limits to people’s freedom of speech or protecting privacy,” was selected by 69 per cent of respondents.
Thirty-one percent of respondents selected: “I worry more about governments and social media companies being able to limit the rights of citizens to express themselves and protecting the privacy of users than the impact of hateful or racist behaviour online.”
The view was widely supported across demographics, according to the Abacus data, including all age groups and genders. The largest split on the sentiment was along ideological lines.
Of those describing their politics as being on the left, 81 per cent said they were more worried about hate speech and racism than limiting freedom of speech; 70 per cent of those describing their views as in the centre chose the same option, as did 50 per cent of those describing their politics as being on the right.
Further, 60 per cent of all respondents said the Canadian government should be doing more to prevent the spread of hateful and racist content online; 17 per cent rejected that idea and 23 per cent said they weren’t sure.
The idea of government intervention was rejected by eight per cent of the left, 15 per cent of the centre, and 38 per cent of the right.
Overall, almost all respondents believed online hateful and racist content is a problem in Canada: 49 per cent described it as a big problem, 44 per cent as a minor problem, and seven per cent as not a problem.
“Hate speech and racism are things that have always been with us, but social media platforms allow them to be disseminated under the veil of anonymity to much wider audiences,” said Mohammed Hashim, executive director of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation. “The fact that most Canadians see this as a problem is all the more reason why our government needs to make online hate speech regulation a policy priority,” he said.
The survey was done independently, and the government was not informed or consulted in its creation, he said.
That wide swaths of the Canadian public said they support government and tech companies being more interventionist isn’t surprising but should also be concerning, said Cara Zwibel, director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association’s Fundamental Freedoms Program.
“The tension between protecting freedom of expression and making sure that people are not subject to discrimination or hate are conflicts that have existed for a long time but have a different kind of scope and urgency because of the internet,” she said.
“This is a really complicated issue and I’m apprehensive of what the government is planning and what approach it might take.”
There can be nuance to unpopular opinion versus something seen as hateful, and the view may be different in a courtroom than on social media, she said.
“I don’t dispute that online expression can result in real-world harm. I do think it is a really tricky area to effectively regulate without potentially causing a lot of unintended damage,” Zwibel said.
The poll floated ideas on how to respond to online hate, and found broad support for each of them.
Ideas included: Requiring social media companies to quickly remove racist or hateful content when it is identified; requiring social media companies to inform police of serious hate speech; strengthening laws to hold perpetrators accountable for what they do online; increasing police training and resources to deal with online hate; and requiring social media companies to reveal the identity of users who spread hateful or racist material.
Any substantive move by government to impose restrictions on internet communications would undoubtedly be challenged in court as an infringement of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The poll found a majority of respondents believed hateful and racist online content has increased over the past few years. Of daily social media users, 55 per cent said they have seen or experienced racist content online; 50 per cent sexist content; 46 per cent homophobic content; 46 per cent physical threats and 26 per cent sexual harassment.
POG IS THE TRANSLATION OF THE LATIN MOTTO
ON THE CREST OF THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA
Canadians support government crackdown on hate and racism on social media, poll finds
A poll conducted in the wake of the storming of the U.S. Capitol by Donald Trump supporters and far-right groups has found that most Canadians want government action against online hate.
A poll conducted in the wake of the storming of the U.S. Capitol by Donald Trump supporters and far-right groups has found that most Canadians want government action against online hate.
© THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Minister of Canadian Heritage Steven Guilbeault speaks during a discussion at the Prime Time 2020 conference in Ottawa, Thursday January 30, 2020.
Commissioned by the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, the poll results also show that almost three-quarters of Canadians are concerned about the rise of right-wing extremism and terrorism.
The results were released Monday by the CRRF, a Crown corporation, as the Liberal government is preparing to introduce measures to regulate social media content.
“The fact that most Canadians see this as a problem is all the more reason why our government needs to make online hate speech regulation a policy priority,” said Mohammed Hashim, the foundation's executive director.
Read more: Neo-Nazis, extremists capitalizing on COVID-19, declassified CSIS documents say
During the 2019 federal election, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he would require social media companies to remove illegal content such as hate speech within 24 hours or face "significant financial penalties."
The pledge remains unfulfilled, but the government said last week it would soon introduce legislation to regulate internet content.
Under the proposal, online platforms would have to "monitor and eliminate illegal content," said Canadian Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault's spokesperson Camille Gagné-Raynauld.
"That includes hate speech, terrorist propaganda, violent content, child sexual exploitation and the non-consensual sharing of intimate images," she said.
"We will also ensure that victims are heard and protected by providing them with a simplified, safe and independent complaint process."
Pressure on social media companies to crack down on hate
The Abacus Data poll, which surveyed 2,000 Canadians between Jan. 15 and 18, reported that 58 per cent felt hateful content on the internet was increasing, and 60 per cent wanted greater federal regulation.
Support for requiring social media companies to remove racist or hateful content within one day was pegged at 80%, while 10 per cent were opposed, the poll said.
It also reported approval of other measures, such as requiring social media companies to remove users who shared racist or hateful content on their platforms.
Read more: How the Toronto-registered websites of al-Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban were taken down
Facebook, Twitter and other tech giants have responded to major incidents of extremist violence such as the New Zealand mosque attacks by deplatforming users for violating their rules.
The siege at the U.S. Capitol during the confirmation of President Joe Biden’s election victory triggered another purge of far-right groups like the Proud Boys from mainstream platforms.
But Bernie Farber, chair of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, said allowing companies to police themselves had not worked.
“They self-regulate and they’re not doing a good job,” he said.
He said right-wing extremists were exploiting online platforms, which he called a “tool for some of the most pernicious hate groups on the continent and around the world.”
“They exist only because they are able to use these platforms,” he said. “That is why they’re growing. That is why we saw what happened in Washington. There have to be rules.”
Read more: Over 6,600 right-wing extremist social media channels, accounts linked to Canada, study finds
Twenty-five per cent of those polled were extremely concerned about the rise of right-wing extremism and terrorism, while 23 per cent were very concerned, 23 per cent were somewhat concerned and 20 per cent were “not that concerned.”
Youths aged 18 to 29, racialized Canadians and those on the political left were most likely to be concerned. Among the political right, 60 per cent were concerned and 36 per cent unconcerned about the issue.
The poll found that a third had seen online content inciting violence, while six per cent had experienced it. For racialized Canadians, the figures were significantly higher, at 41 per cent and 11 per cent.
“Across every item, racialized Canadians are more likely to report experiencing or seeing content online,” the poll said.
Overall, 49 per cent thought online hate and racism was a “big problem,” while 44 per cent considered it a “minor” problem. Youths and left-leaning Canadians were most likely to see it as a problem.
“We are encouraged that Canadians appear to be willing to support a strong framework for ensuring we minimize hate and harassment — even in the darkest corners of virtual society,” Hashim said.
The poll’s margin of error was 2.2 per cent, 19 times out of 20.
Stewart.Bell@globalnews.ca
Commissioned by the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, the poll results also show that almost three-quarters of Canadians are concerned about the rise of right-wing extremism and terrorism.
The results were released Monday by the CRRF, a Crown corporation, as the Liberal government is preparing to introduce measures to regulate social media content.
“The fact that most Canadians see this as a problem is all the more reason why our government needs to make online hate speech regulation a policy priority,” said Mohammed Hashim, the foundation's executive director.
Read more: Neo-Nazis, extremists capitalizing on COVID-19, declassified CSIS documents say
During the 2019 federal election, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he would require social media companies to remove illegal content such as hate speech within 24 hours or face "significant financial penalties."
The pledge remains unfulfilled, but the government said last week it would soon introduce legislation to regulate internet content.
Under the proposal, online platforms would have to "monitor and eliminate illegal content," said Canadian Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault's spokesperson Camille Gagné-Raynauld.
"That includes hate speech, terrorist propaganda, violent content, child sexual exploitation and the non-consensual sharing of intimate images," she said.
"We will also ensure that victims are heard and protected by providing them with a simplified, safe and independent complaint process."
Pressure on social media companies to crack down on hate
The Abacus Data poll, which surveyed 2,000 Canadians between Jan. 15 and 18, reported that 58 per cent felt hateful content on the internet was increasing, and 60 per cent wanted greater federal regulation.
Support for requiring social media companies to remove racist or hateful content within one day was pegged at 80%, while 10 per cent were opposed, the poll said.
It also reported approval of other measures, such as requiring social media companies to remove users who shared racist or hateful content on their platforms.
Read more: How the Toronto-registered websites of al-Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban were taken down
Facebook, Twitter and other tech giants have responded to major incidents of extremist violence such as the New Zealand mosque attacks by deplatforming users for violating their rules.
The siege at the U.S. Capitol during the confirmation of President Joe Biden’s election victory triggered another purge of far-right groups like the Proud Boys from mainstream platforms.
But Bernie Farber, chair of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, said allowing companies to police themselves had not worked.
“They self-regulate and they’re not doing a good job,” he said.
He said right-wing extremists were exploiting online platforms, which he called a “tool for some of the most pernicious hate groups on the continent and around the world.”
“They exist only because they are able to use these platforms,” he said. “That is why they’re growing. That is why we saw what happened in Washington. There have to be rules.”
Read more: Over 6,600 right-wing extremist social media channels, accounts linked to Canada, study finds
Twenty-five per cent of those polled were extremely concerned about the rise of right-wing extremism and terrorism, while 23 per cent were very concerned, 23 per cent were somewhat concerned and 20 per cent were “not that concerned.”
Youths aged 18 to 29, racialized Canadians and those on the political left were most likely to be concerned. Among the political right, 60 per cent were concerned and 36 per cent unconcerned about the issue.
The poll found that a third had seen online content inciting violence, while six per cent had experienced it. For racialized Canadians, the figures were significantly higher, at 41 per cent and 11 per cent.
“Across every item, racialized Canadians are more likely to report experiencing or seeing content online,” the poll said.
Overall, 49 per cent thought online hate and racism was a “big problem,” while 44 per cent considered it a “minor” problem. Youths and left-leaning Canadians were most likely to see it as a problem.
“We are encouraged that Canadians appear to be willing to support a strong framework for ensuring we minimize hate and harassment — even in the darkest corners of virtual society,” Hashim said.
The poll’s margin of error was 2.2 per cent, 19 times out of 20.
Stewart.Bell@globalnews.ca
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