Canada's new "Trolling Law"

**Grumpy Cat** · 04-29-2013, 08:24 PM

You think other countries will follow suit? Maybe the UK will be next after this.

http://metro.co.uk/2013/04/29/school...rolls-3696590/

The law in a nutshell:

If person is distressed, a court order will be issued to the offender to cease electronic contact.

If offender fails to comply, they will receive a court order to stop using social networking.

After that, if offender fails to comply, they will be banned from owning computers, smartphones, or tablets.

After that, still failure to comply, a fine of $5000 and/or jail time.

It's bad that such a law should be passed, parents should be teaching their kids that if someone tells you to stop, stop. It's not an invitation for more harassment. This shouldnt have been something for the courts in the first placd if parents did their jobs.

**The Lawspeaker** · 04-29-2013, 08:25 PM

Another direct violation of the freedom of speech. We don't need people to tell us what to do with our trolls. We can kick them out ourselves.

**Grumpy Cat** · 04-29-2013, 08:29 PM

Originally Posted by The Lawspeaker

Another direct violation of the freedom of speech.

No it's not. This is about harassment like what happened in the two publicized suicides in this country. People who harassed young girls and didn't let up. This is what this law is addressing.

I applaud this law, personally.

There is no censorship of speech anywhere in the law.

**Humanophage** · 04-29-2013, 08:29 PM

Are there any relatively well-off countries which respect freedom on the internet and don't engage in this inane surge of new limits on what people post online? I know the new limits are pretty bad in Russia and the UK.

**The Lawspeaker** · 04-29-2013, 08:30 PM

Originally Posted by Grumpy Cat

No it's not. This is about harassment like what happened in the two publicized suicides in this country. People who harassed young girls and didn't let up. This is what this law is addressing.

I applaud this law, personally.

But that has nothing to do with trolling. That has to do with harassment. There is a difference between the two and the present anti-harassment laws should already deal with this kind of harassment. That legal framework is already there and it just needs to be upheld and we don't need laws to stifle the freedom of speech. This is like shooting a mosquito with a bazooka while you never bothered to pick up the fly swapper.

**alfieb** · 04-29-2013, 08:30 PM

What a disgraceful law.

Anglo countries are awful.

Australia: "THERE WAS A MASS KILLING! WE NEED TO TAKE AWAY THE GUNS!"
Canada: "BULLIED PEOPLE KILLED THEMSELVES! WE NEED TO TAKE AWAY FREEDOM OF SPEECH!"

**Grumpy Cat** · 04-29-2013, 08:33 PM

Originally Posted by The Lawspeaker

But that has nothing to do with trolling. That has to do with harassment. There is a difference between the two and the present anti-harassment laws should already deal with this kind of harassment.

There were no laws previously in Canada that dealt with the Internet. Basically the new law covers continuous contact even after being asked to stop and distributing of personal pictures and other identifying information without consent for malicious purposes.

People are calling it the "trolling law", but it's a cyberbullying legislation, just the harshest one passed to date.

**Loki** · 04-29-2013, 08:33 PM

Originally Posted by alfieb

What a disgraceful law.

Anglo countries are awful.

Australia: "THERE WAS A MASS KILLING! WE NEED TO TAKE AWAY THE GUNS!"
Canada: "BULLIED PEOPLE KILLED THEMSELVES! WE NEED TO TAKE AWAY FREEDOM OF SPEECH!"

That's bullshit. This law will just punish offenders, not regular users of the internet. A harasser is a harasser - whether in real life or on the internet. Doing it cyber-style is no different really. In fact it can be worse.

**The Lawspeaker** · 04-29-2013, 08:34 PM

If the kids involved could actually be arrested and charged for harassment for once then the judicial services would actually do their work but it shows that the legislative branch of government is out of control. Instead of having the police enforce the current laws they introduce new laws that just curtail the freedom of speech while not even dealing with the existing problem. A very expensive and dangerous symbol that should be repealed at once.

**The Lawspeaker** · 04-29-2013, 08:35 PM

Originally Posted by Grumpy Cat

There were no laws previously in Canada that dealt with the Internet. Basically the new law covers continuous contact even after being asked to stop and distributing of personal pictures and other identifying information without consent for malicious purposes.

People are calling it the "trolling law", but it's a cyberbullying legislation, just the harshest one passed to date.

So you're saying that Canada had no anti-harassment laws ?