Dear Editor:
Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives have revealed a concerning glimpse into their agenda should they win the next election.
Riding a significant polling lead over Trudeau’s Liberals, Poilievre announced he is in favour of ID requirements for accessing online pornography, purportedly to safeguard children.
But is it government’s role to dictate parental responsibilities? Shouldn’t parents be trusted to navigate conversations about online content with their children? Poilievre’s sudden disregard for parental autonomy seems selective, surfacing only to preserve the last gasps of outdated, Christian values.
This draconian proposal to implement surveillance to access adult content raises serious privacy concerns. Privacy is our right in Canada, not a bargaining chip. The CPC’s insistence on sacrificing Canadians’ privacy in a moral crusade sets a dangerous precedent.
CPC MP Garnet Genius’s assertion that porn companies can be trusted with sensitive data flies in the face of reality. In a study done by Wired.com, an analysis of over 22,000 porn sites found that 93% of them leak sensitive consumer info to third parties. This underscores the need for robust privacy protections – not blind faith in corporations.
The feasibility of enforcing ID requirements for accessing adult content is dubious. Experts argue that most teenagers will easily circumvent measures with tools like virtual private networks. The legislation would not only infringe on privacy rights but also waste taxpayer dollars on ineffective measures.
This proposition does nothing to meaningfully protect children from the dangers of sex and pornography – those dangers being sexual abuse, short sentences for sex offenders and not enough being done to address sex trafficking.
Poilievre could have knocked this out of the park with voters on all sides if he addressed the above. Instead he proposed a surveillance state to a base that didn’t even want a vax passport to go eat at Wendys.
John Mifsud,
Fergus