The Liberals are set to unveil an online harms bill today. Here's what you need to know

The federal government is introducing its long-awaited online harms legislation today, after its last attempt to tackle online hate died when the 2021 federal election was called.

The text of the legislation has not yet been made available, but its 46-word title indicates that it will involve changes to the Criminal Code, the Canadian Human Rights Act and laws that make reportingonline child pornography mandatory.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said last week the bill is designed to protect children from being subjected to «hatred, to violence, to being bullied and seeing and being affected by terrible things online.»

What happened to the 2021 legislation?

In June of 2023, the federal government introduced Bill C-36, legislation meant to crack down on hate propaganda, hate crimes and hate speech.

David Lametti, then the minister of justice, said the legislation was «designed to target the most egregious and clear forms of hate speech that can lead to discrimination and violence.»

Bill C-36 would have allowed individuals or groups to file hate speech complaints with the Canadian Human Rights Commission. It also included measures aimed at preventing abuse of the process.

Bill C-36 was roundly criticized by privacy experts and civil liberties groups who said its requirement that online platforms remove content flagged as harmful within 24 hours would encourage companies to take an overly cautious approach, resulting in suppression of free speech.

Emily Laidlaw, a law professor at the University of Calgary who was a co-chair of the government's advisory group on the legislation, said she hopes the legislation will abandon the take-down deadline and approach.

«It is incredibly difficult to assess content at the margins when it comes