MPs and senators from various political parties and affiliations have written an open letter urging the Liberal government to take immediate action to combat non-consensual online content and child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The letter specifically points out the slow pace the government is taking in cracking down on websites like Pornhub, owned by Montreal-based company MindGeek, which has been accused of knowingly hosting sexual abuse material, including abuse of minors. The lawmakers are calling on the government to provide support for survivors who want to remove non-consensual videos of themselves online and to implement the 14 recommendations from a House of Commons ethics committee report into Pornhub. The recommendations include holding websites like Pornhub more accountable for not preventing illegal content from being uploaded online and requiring platforms to verify the age of people depicted in pornographic material before it is shared.
Conservative MP Arnold Viersen, who co-signed the letter along with 68 other MPs and senators, has been pushing members to retable the ethics committee report but has so far been unsuccessful. He believes that survivors of child abuse or sex trafficking should not have to wait years for justice, and every day that goes by without action from the government is another day that victims are exploited online. The letter was addressed to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and three cabinet ministers, and they were urged to support proposed legislation or table new bills aimed at combatting CSAM and other sexual abuse material.
The government has responded by saying that new legislation would be introduced “as soon as possible,” and that an expert advisory group on online safety, created in March 2022, is working on advising the government in developing legislation to address various forms of harmful online content. MindGeek, which has said it has “zero tolerance for non-consensual content, child sexual abuse material (CSAM), and any other content that lack the consent of all parties depicted,” was purchased by Ottawa-based private equity firm Ethical Capital Partners in March. The new owners have vowed to take the company in a new direction and repair its reputation.