Final Report 2022: How to Make Online Platforms More Transparent and Accountable to Canadian Users

Résumé analytique

Following six months of study and deliberations, the Canadian Commission on Democratic Expression settled on a series of principles and recommendations underlying a practical course of action for the public, governments and social media platforms to protect democratic expression in Canada and counter the harms created by content posted, shared and amplified through social media platforms. The Commission recognizes the complexity of the issues at play in a free and democratic, rights-based society and offers these recommendations as a path forward, encouraging debate that may further refine them and lead to their implementation by governments and regulators.

The Commission's nine principles hold that free speech is fundamental to a democratic society and that the internet enables broader participation in public debate, but that the rise of hatred, disinformation, polarizing content, conspiracies, bullying and other harmful communications online is undermining these gains. The status quo of leaving content moderation to the sole discretion of platforms has failed to stem the spread of these harms, and the notion that platforms are neutral disseminators of information is faulty: platforms distribute content to serve their commercial interests and must assume greater responsibility for the harms they amplify, while public agencies must play a more active regulatory role. Any policy response must put individuals first, guard against chilling effects on participation (particularly for Indigenous peoples and other equity-seeking groups), centre privacy protections and rights-based approaches, give special attention to minors under 18, and pursue multilateral action with like-minded democracies.

These principles led the Commission to an interrelated set of recommendations across three core themes. Under transparency, it calls for a regulatory gatekeeper to mandate and enforce platform data access for the public, accredited researchers/journalists, and specialized public-interest research across three tiers; universal digital ad transparency with standardized, archived disclosure; and stronger whistleblower protections. Under accountability, it calls for a new independent federal regulator with investigative, auditing and enforcement powers; tiered obligations by platform type/size and by use by minors versus adults; clarified intermediary liability protections and exceptions; a rights-based Algorithmic Accountability Framework including Algorithmic Impact Assessments, Human Rights Impact Assessments and algorithmic audits; and a Code of Practice on Disinformation. Under empowerment, it calls for support for Indigenous knowledge, relationships, protocols and data governance; strengthened civic education and digital literacy for equity-seeking groups; mandated interoperability and data mobility, including a right to data portability; and modernization of Canada's privacy legislation toward a rights-based framework with greater authority for the Privacy Commissioner.