Examining the impact of digital technologies on Canadian society
The Canadian Citizens’ Assemblies on Democratic Expression
Digital technologies are changing society.
Here’s how society responds.
Over the next three years, more than 120 randomly selected Canadians will serve on one of three national Citizens’ Assemblies on Democratic Expression examining the impact of digital technologies on Canadian society. Each Assembly will issue a detailed report to the Canadian Commission on Democratic Expression, to the federal government, and to the Canadian public. We hope this initiative will help to propel an important conversation about the future of digital technologies and the public policies required to ensure these technologies support a vibrant democracy.
Our Final Report
The report of the ‘capstone’ Citizens’ Assembly on Democratic Expression has now been posted. It contains 43 recommendations to protect Canadians from online harms, and calls on the government and industry to adopt much higher standards of transparency and user control.
The Canadian Citizens’ Assemblies on Democratic Expression — three in total and involving more than 90 Canadians who together contributed 6,000 volunteer hours — have examined how the Government of Canada should regulate digital service providers to create a safe environment where Canadians can express themselves and be protected from a range of harms.
The members of the Assemblies have come from communities across Canada. Together, they represent almost every facet of Canadian life. Some are digital natives — spending much of their working and leisure time online. Others are less familiar with the range of online services but are nevertheless concerned with their significance and social impact.
Each Assembly has been unanimous on the need for immediate and far-reaching regulations to curb what they see as the pernicious and largely unconstrained ability of bad actors to exploit, harass, and victimize Canadians online. They express deep scepticism about the sincerity or ability of many digital service providers to take the steps necessary to curb these harms.
The 2022 Summer Assembly
The concluding ‘capstone’ Citizens’ Assembly on Democratic Expression met in Ottawa, June 15-19, to review the work of the federal Expert Panel and consider the measures government should take to strengthen online safety, reduce disinformation, safeguard user rights. The assembly will issue its public report in September as part of the Department of Canadian Heritage’s ongoing efforts to develop a regulatory framework for digital platforms. For more information, follow @cade_aced
The 2021 Citizens’ Assembly on Democratic Expression has concluded.
The 2021 Citizens’ Assembly on Democratic Expression kicked off its new season Saturday, October 9th. 42 Canadians representing all provinces and territories met one another virtually, and heard from former lawyer and CBC broadcaster Lisa Taylor from Ryerson University, Jane Lytvynenko, senior research fellow at the Technology and Social Change project at Harvard Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center and Gallit Dobner, Director of Global Affairs Canada’s Centre for International Digital Policy, and began their deliberations.
The second virtual meeting welcomed Cara Zwibel, Director, Fundamental Freedoms Program Canadian Civil Liberties Association as well as Anne-Marie Boisvert, Professor at the Université de Montréal's Law Faculty and specialist in criminal law to discuss how criminal law could be used to provide consequences for disseminating disinformation online, as well as the challenges the law has in navigating the freedom of expression guaranteed under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Canadian Constitution. Our members then explored legal methods for regulation and were briefed on past and current laws in this space with Professor Kent Roach from the University of Toronto.
The final virtual meeting, which focused on international approaches, provoked lively discussion after hearing from Karim Benyekhlef, Professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Montreal, and Director of the Cyberjustice Laboratory and Heidi Tworek, Associate Professor of international history and public policy at the University of British Columbia.
The process continued in late November, with a four day in-person session in Ottawa. During these meetings, the members continued their learning with presentations from Dick Fadden, former National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister and Director of CSIS and Laura Tribe from Open Media.
They were also treated to a keynote address and question period with Michael Geist, Law Professor at the University of Ottawa and Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law, as well as contributor to the Globe and Mail and host of the Law Bytes podcast.
To round off the program, Eve Gaumond from University of Laval and contributor to the Lawfare blog and Michele Austin, Head of Policy at Twitter Canada, shared their thoughts on the issue.
The 2021 Citizens’ Assembly on Democratic Expression considers whether and under what circumstances legal penalties or other consequences should be applied against individuals or organizations that knowingly spread false information online with the intent to cause harm.
Over the course of more than 40 hours, the Assembly members:
Learn about the principles of democratic expression and the social impact of digital technologies;
Examine existing institutions and regulations that safeguard both democratic speech and the public interest;
Consider the effectiveness of existing Canadian laws;
Explore how other countries are responding to this challenge;
Issue a series of consensus recommendations concerning the measures the federal government and industry should take.
Read the 2021 Assembly’s final report on how to strengthen Canada’s response to the spread of online disinformation.
“I want to underscore how highly I think of the appropriateness and value of this Citizens' Assembly. It is extremely important, the mission you have before you, and I want to wish you the best of luck.”
— Professor Ron Deibert, Citizen Lab, University of Toronto
From Inuvik to Eel Ground:
The 2020 Citizens’ Assembly has concluded its deliberations.
The 42-member Citizens’ Assembly met virtually for more than 40 hours during 18 sessions between September and December 2020. The Assembly’s recommendations aim to strengthen oversight and accountability for digital platforms; enhance international regulatory cooperation and enforcement; reduce misinformation and empower users; establish new digital rights; ensure user safety; accountability and awareness; and support independent journalism and Canadian content.
Read the Assembly’s final report containing 33 recommendations for reducing the prevalence and impact of harmful and hateful online speech.
What is it like to serve on a
(virtual) Citizens’ Assembly?
Got 94 seconds?
We’ve made a very short video to explain how civic lotteries and citizens assemblies work.