The majority of Canadians want the internet censored, according to a new poll by a government agency.
A report on Blacklock’s Reporter claims that the Canadian Race Relations Foundation poll conducted in November found that most Canadians support internet censorship.
The poll did not ask respondents whether they supported the government-proposed internet censorship bill. Additionally, respondents were not told that so-called “hate speech” and other harmful content are already illegal in the country.
They were asked whether they are concerned about “the spread of hate speech online” and the alleged spike in “right-wing extremism and terrorism.” The survey also asked, “How big of a problem do you think hateful and racist online content and behavior is in Canada?”
In the dubious report, the foundation wrote: “Online hatred is a major problem according to a majority of Canadians and people want legislation to combat serious forms of harmful online content.”
The survey was conducted in early November, and involved 2,018 respondents.
The report added: “Canadians are over twice as likely to say they worry more about the impact of hate speech and racism on people it harms and the impact on society overall (56%) than to say they worry more about governments and social media companies being able to limit the rights of citizens to express themselves and protecting the privacy of users (21%).”
The foundation’s spokesperson Kimberly Bennett said that the survey was not conducted in collaboration with Liberals. She said respondents were not informed that harmful content is already illegal because the foundation asks its “questions with limited preamble.”
“That way we do not unduly influence the respondents. It is to better understand current views on the issues,” she explained.
The Canadian government plans to reintroduce the internet censorship bills that lapsed in the last parliament, including a proposal to fine content creators for “harmful” content.
