Stop Canada Censorship

Say no to website blocking in Canada

A coalition of organizations — spearheaded by Bell — is asking the CRTC to implement a website-blocking system to curb piracy. They want to create an official Internet censorship committee within the federal government, without court oversight.

This dangerous and over-reaching proposal will lead to legitimate content and speech being censored, violating our right to free expression and the principles of Net Neutrality,¹ which the federal government has consistently pledged support for.²

So, we gathered our own coalition: One that has Canada's best interests at heart. And today a coalition of more than 30 organizations and businesses — including digital rights groups, library associations, independent Internet service providers and civil liberties organizations — are standing together against this website blocking plan.

And on Wednesday, February 28 — citizens from across the country stood against censorship, and by the end of the day we had more than 50,000 comments.^{3, 4, 5}

We still have until March 29 to collect comments to the CRTC — add your voice now!

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Dear Commissioners,

I am gravely concerned about the recent proposal from the so-called “FairPlay Canada” coalition to introduce a mandatory website blocking system in Canada, administered by the CRTC. This proposal would result in sweeping Internet censorship, penalize everyday online activities, and threaten Canada’s Net Neutrality rules that keep the Internet a level playing field for all. This is simply unacceptable, and not the Canada that I want to live in.

The proposal put forward by FairPlay Canada is intended to curb piracy, but as we know, piracy is at a historic low in Canada. This is a solution in search of a problem. This proposal is downright dangerous. It's a slippery slope to censorship. To start blocking one type of content opens the door for all kinds of other requests to block content — some of which may be legal, but just unpopular. Putting a person, agency, or other non-judicial body in charge of deciding what we can and cannot see online fundamentally changes the foundations of the Internet as we know it. This goes against free expression, Net Neutrality, and the open Internet as a whole — it even has the potential to violate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The open Internet is a critical tool for my everyday life. Unaccountable corporations should not be able to pick and choose what I see online.

I am writing to you today because I hope that you can see that this is not the right future for Canada’s Internet. I sincerely urge you to do the right thing, and reject this radical and inefficient proposal.

I acknowledge that my comments and information will form part of the public record for this proceeding, including on the CRTC website. I do not wish to appear at the hearing in relation to this submission. I ask that this submission be granted the same weight as that of any other party.

Thank you,

The message is clear: Canadians do not want Bell's dangerous and overreaching censorship proposal.

Here's how you can help:

THIS IS KEY: Submit a comment to the CRTC now using our easy tool above or navigate to the CRTC's website and file your comment directly.
Share this site, DontCensor.ca, over email or take to Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit!
Change your profile pictures and ask your friends to stand up to Bell's censorship scheme. You can also use this tool to add a censorship bar to your existing photo.
Tweet the so-called "FairPlay" coalition directly: Use this easy tool to make it clear you don't approve that they have signed on to this dangerous proposal.
Have a website? Add this alert that pops up when someone goes to your page!

We had 50,000 comments into the CRTC by the time the clock struck midnight on March 1 — now we have to keep going! We have until March 29 to collect comments, and we can't do it without you.

We can win this, but we need to take the message to other Canadians. Help us spread the word on social media:

Use these images on Facebook and Twitter! We've made some great ones, right click and save below, or find them (and more!) in a folder, or make — and share — your own!

Profile picture

Stuck for inspiration? Here is some wording of example Facebook and Twitter posts you can use, and here are share images!

Or, make it clear with an infographic: use one of these:

Infographic Geist Infographic

Are you an organization or company?

Want to know how you can take part? Add your information to our Google Form or email katy@openmedia.org with your name and organization, and we’ll follow up with more information.

Are you an artist or online creator?

We want to know how you think these rules affect you! Do you think they are in your interest? We are looking for input from artists if you want to take part, please email katy@openmedia.org.

This action is hosted by:

https://openmedia.org/

This campaign is supported by the following organizations:

https://www.tunnelbear.com/ https://bccla.org/ https://ca.creativecommons.org/ http://www.cjfe.org/ https://www.newmode.net/ https://www.sumofus.org/ https://affinitybridge.com/ http://agentic.ca/ https://www.caut.ca/ https://creativecommons.org/ https://ccla.org/ https://cippic.ca/ http://www.cmcrp.org/ https://www.eff.org/ https://fipa.bc.ca/ http://frpc.net/ http://genwhymedia.ca/ https://www.gossamer-threads.com/ https://humandatacommons.org/ https://hoovie.net/ https://www.internetsociety.org/ http://www.iristel.com/ https://www.leadnow.ca/ https://manoverboard.com/ http://www.accessola.org/web http://openconcept.ca/ https://pacc-ccap.ca/ https://ricochet.media/en http://www.rmcla.ca http://www.tucows.com/ https://twitchcalgary.ca/ https://www.meetup.com/twitchvancouver/ https://znet.ca/ https://www.dailyxtra.com/ https://saturn.domains/ http://www.intwebexpress.com/

Want to learn more?
The Case Against the Bell Coalition’s Website Blocking Plan: Read this excellent series by University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist:
Part 1: Canada’s Current Copyright Law Provides Effective Anti-Piracy Tools
Part 2: Weak Evidence on the State of Canadian Piracy
Part 3: Piracy Having Little Impact on Thriving Digital Services and TV Production
Part 4: Absence of Court Orders Would Put Canada At Odds With Almost Everyone
Part 5: The Inevitable Expansion of the Block List Standard for “Piracy” Sites
Part 6: Over-Blocking of Legitimate Websites
Part 7: The Likely Expansion of the Block List to Non-IP Issues
Part 8: The Ineffectiveness of Website Blocking
Part 9: Why it Violates Canadian Net Neutrality Rules
Part 10: Why It May Violate Human Rights Norms
Part 11: Higher Internet Access Costs for All
Part 12: Increasing Privacy Risks for Canadians
Part 13: It is Inconsistent With the CRTC Policy Direction
Part 14: Failure To Further the Telecommunications Act Policy Objectives
Part 15: It Undermines the Telecommunications Act Policy Objectives

Footnotes:
[1] Why the CRTC should reject FairPlay’s dangerous website-blocking plan: Globe and Mail
[2] Statement - Minister Bains comments on the Federal Communications Commission vote on net neutrality: Canada Newswire
[3] Canadians rally against Bell's plan to censor the Internet: BlogTO
[4] OpenMedia launches day of action to protest FairPlay Canada anti-piracy coalition: MobileSyrup
[5] How to Participate in Protest Against Bell Coalition’s Website Blocking Plan: iPhone Canada

If you haven't taken action yet click here.

Press: Katy Anderson | Phone: +1 (888) 441-2640 ext. 1 | Office: +1 (844) 891-5136 | katy@openmedia.org