C-63An Act to enact the Online Harms Act, to amend the Criminal Code, the Canadian Human Rights Act and An Act respecting the mandatory reporting of Internet child pornography by persons who provide an Internet service and to make consequential and related amendments to other Acts
Government bill, introduced in the House of Commons on February 26, 2024
- Status
- Defeated at second reading in the House of Commons
What it does
Creates new online safety rules for social media, adds hate crime measures, updates human rights law on online hate speech, and changes child pornography reporting rules.
What it does
- Creates the Digital Safety Commission, Digital Safety Ombudsperson, and Digital Safety Office, and gives social media operators duties to reduce harmful content, protect children, keep records, and make certain content inaccessible in Canada.
- Allows people in Canada to complain about child sexual exploitation content, revived abuse content, and non-consensual intimate content, and lets the Commission order that content blocked.
- Creates a new hate crime offence, adds a peace bond for hate propaganda and hate crime offences, defines “hatred,” and raises maximum penalties for hate propaganda offences.
- Makes communicating hate speech by internet or other telecommunication a discriminatory practice under the Canadian Human Rights Act, and lets the Commission and Tribunal handle complaints and remedies.
- Updates the mandatory reporting law for Internet child pornography by clarifying covered services, changing how notices are sent, requiring transmission data in some cases, and extending data retention and prosecution periods.
Who it affects
- Social media companies
- People in Canada
- Children online
- Survivors of intimate image abuse
- Victims of hate crimes
- Internet service providers
- Law enforcement bodies
Background
The bill was introduced in the House of Commons on 26 February 2024. It would enact the Online Harms Act and amend several existing laws.
Where it is
House of Commons
First reading
Completed.
Second reading
Defeated here. Defeated
Committee
Not reached.
Report stage
Not reached.
Third reading
Not reached.
Senate
First reading
Not reached.
Second reading
Not reached.
Committee
Not reached.
Third reading
Not reached.
Royal assent
Royal assent
Not reached.
Introduced by a cabinet minister on behalf of the government. Government bills get set time for debate, so they are the most likely to become law. How a bill becomes law
How the House voted
No recorded votes yet
What MPs said
Each party’s first speech on this bill in the House, from Hansard. Excerpts are the speaker’s opening sentences, unedited.
LiberalArif Virani· June 7, 2024
“Hon. colleagues, I am very pleased today to speak to Bill C-63, the online harms act. I speak today not only as a minister and as a fellow parliamentarian, but also as a father, as a South Asian and as a Muslim Canadian.”
Read the full speech on openparliament.caConservativeMichelle Rempel· June 7, 2024
“We must protect Canadians in the digital age, but Bill C-63 is not the way to do it. It would force Canadians to make unnecessary trade-offs between the guarantee of their security and their charter rights.”
Read the full speech on openparliament.caBlocClaude DeBellefeuille· June 7, 2024
“This bill is coming back to the House and the government should make a commitment at some point. We are asking the government to give royal assent to Bill C‑319.”
Read the full speech on openparliament.caNDPPeter Julian· June 7, 2024
“However, other elements of this bill are not as clear and raise important questions. We feel it is really necessary to pass the bill, send it to committee and give that committee the opportunity to do a thorough review.”
Read the full speech on openparliament.ca
Read the source
LEGISinfo status: At second reading in the House of Commons. Bill data from LEGISinfo, votes from openparliament.ca and the House of Commons. Last updated October 13, 2026.