June 3, 1999
CRTC rules out regulating the Internet
Decision draws mixed reviews from Jewish groups
By PAUL LUNGEN
Staff Reporter
TORONTO -The Internet may not be sacrosanct when it comes to complying with Canadian law on hate promotion, but neither will the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) regulate the rapidly growing communications medium.
In a widely anticipated announcement recently, the CRTC rejected suggestions it regulate the Internet, the world-wide computer network. "Our message is clear. We are not regulating any portion of the Internet," said CRTC chair Franois Bertrand. "The CRTC is concerned that any attempt to regulate Canadian new media might put the industry at a competitive disadvantage in the global marketplace.
"We believe...that appropriate tools already exist to deal with offensive and illegal content. Tools such as Canadian laws of general application, industry self-regulation, content filtering software as well as increased media awareness," Bertrand stated.
The CRTC announcement drew mixed reviews in the Jewish community. The Simon Wiesenthal Centre (SWC) and B'nai Brith Canada stated they believed the Internet should be regulated while Canadian Jewish Congress was satisfied that law enforcement agencies could employ other tools to control the promotion of hate in the new medium.
"We're not in disagreement per se with the CRTC decision," said Mark Weintraub, national chair of community relations for Congress. "We had articulated our concerns in a brief to the [Commission] and our primary concern was that the regulation of hate not fall through the jurisdictional cracks.
"Our focus is not on which body is ultimately responsible, but to ensure that confusion did not reign...We are of the view there is an arsenal that could be used," including the Criminal Code provision against the promotion of hate and the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA), which prohibits use of telephone and other media to disseminate hate.
(A Canadian Human Rights Commission tribunal is currently hearing a case involving a Web site purportedly operated by Holocaust-denier Ernst Zundel. The Commission alleges the site - known as "Zundelsite" - promotes hatred of Jews. Congress, B'nai Brith and the Simon Wiesenthal Centre (SWC) are interveners in the case. Zundel has challenged the jurisdiction of the tribunal, arguing the Internet was not a telephonic form of communication that came within the CHRA's jurisdiction. Although the tribunal ruled against him, Zundel can be expected to appeal that decision.)
B'nai Brith spokesman Frank Dimant said "the CRTC has it half right...The Internet should be regulated, but not by them. The Canadian Human Rights Commission is the body with the mandate and the expertise to deal with hate propaganda transmitted over telephone wires. They should have the clear mandate to deal with hate on the Internet."
Sol Littman, Canadian representative of the SWC, took a tougher line. "I think the CRTC lost a golden opportunity to bring some sanity and order to the Internet," he said.
"The Internet at the present time has become the haven for hatemongers, pornographers, swindlers and nags. For the past three years, the centre has been closely monitoring hate groups."
A few years ago, there were "no more than 50 sites worldwide worthy of our attention. At the present time, there are 1,833 such sites."
Littman acknowledged that Canada is largely free of hate sites but he argued the CRTC should have addressed several issues, including the liability of foreign Internet Service Providers (ISPs) that host hate messages that are acted upon in Canada. Gun manufacturers and cigarette companies are facing lawsuits in the United States resulting from their products, he pointed out.
The CRTC also should have examined the feasibility of cross-border protests to U.S. authorities concerning hate sites as well as legal remedies against ISPs that refuse to remove racist Web sites.
Littman said Canadian ISPs generally co-operate to remove offensive sites once they are brought to management's attention. He commended the Canadian Association of Internet Providers (CAIP), a group that meets to discuss the Internet service industry, in that regard.
"We are very pleased with the [CRTC] decision," said CAIP president Ron Kawchuk. "I think it makes a lot of sense it terms of what the commission can and cannot do."
CAIP relies on three "pillars" for self-regulation, he continued: providing end-users with a software filter to prevent the browsing of unwanted Web sites; creating public awareness of the issue; and developing a code of conduct for CAIP members.
Kawchuk said the SWC played an important role in the self-regulation process by informing ISPs when they were hosting racist Web sites. "ISPs do not look at the content, so you have to have someone say, 'we have problems with these sites, and here's why'," Kawchuk said.
Littman acknowledged that Canadian ISPs generally co-operate in removing racist Web content. He pointed to a recent situation involving CadVision, a Calgary-based ISP that quietly removed a "white nationalist" Web site after the SWC had brought it to management's attention last January.
