Canada's Online Harms Act (Bill C-63) — Retroactive Hate Speech Liability

The Canadian government introduced Bill C-63, the Online Harms Act, which would create a new Digital Safety Commission with powers to order content removal, impose hate speech provisions including lifetime house arrest for "feared" future offences, and — most controversially — allow complaints about speech made years or decades before the law's passage. Section 23 would allow individuals to file Canadian Human Rights Commission complaints about online content posted at any time in the past. Critics including the Canadian Civil Liberties Association described the retroactivity provision as a fundamental violation of rule of law. The bill stalled in Parliament and lapsed with the dissolution of the 43rd Parliament.

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