Experts want online hate law to cover Airbnb and video games

The advisory committee believes that an online hate law in the future should be wide -ranging covering not only the social networks Twitter and Facebook, but also smaller online platforms, including crowdfunding platforms. app, according to reports from their discussions published online.

Many experts on the panel also argued that private conversations are online within the legislative framework.

The Liberal government has said it wants to introduce an Online Hate Bill so that harmful content, such as racist and anti-Semitic slurs online, can be quickly removed by platforms.

Earlier this year, Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez appointed an online safety expert advisory group to provide advice for such legislation.

In the group’s working papers, the Department of Heritage said it was not inclined to regulate services such as Uber, Airbnb and Peloton. The ministry suggested that they be excluded […]because their main purpose is not to allow communication between people with each other, but to arrange transportation, rent accommodation or participate in training.

Wider reach

However, many panel experts suggested wider scope and preferenceinclude all entities that allow online communication. There are those who say he is it makes sense to look more broadlywith the some interactive services such as Airbnb and online gaming platformsindicate recordings of their meetings.

Some expert advisors added that it would be difficult to impose blanket rules on some platforms, for example, social media companies, but not on others that work at the same level of technology, such as video game platforms.

The report indicated that some panel members thought so that a broad definition will help address emerging and emerging technologies to help future proof the law.

The members taught that many times high levels of harmful content, such as terrorist content or child pornography, are shared in private communications rather than public forums-and excluding these types of communications will leave a lot of harmful content on the table..

Airbnb defended itself

San Francisco-based Airbnb said communications on its platform are between people booking accommodations and landlords, such as asking about dog permits.

The company said it has a broad and strict anti -discrimination policy. He said people who do not follow it, as well as those linked to extremist groups, will be removed from the list.

An Airbnb spokesman said the site banned the accounts of dozens of users linked to white nationalist groups, including those identified as members of Iron March, a neo-Nazi forum, following the Membership Disclosure of the Forum.

Any form of discrimination – including defamation, prejudice and racism – has no place on our platform or in our community in Canada and around the world, and we have strong policies on these issues that are consistent with our values.said Nathan Rotman of Airbnb Canada.

” According to the government, this bill is intended to regulate social media platforms, not platforms like Airbnb. “

In the United States, Harvard Business School researchers exploring racial discrimination on Airbnb found that applications from hosts with African American names were approximately 16% more likely to be accepted than guests with white names.

Bernie Farber, president of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network and member of the 12-person panel, said Airbnb should cover the scope of regulations aimed at combating online hate, as discussions are taking place about its platform.

The government also asked its advisory group to consider the extent of the law.

Interactive services that are not social media platforms, such as video game platforms, streaming sites [streaming]or crowdfunding platforms, should they also be included? reads a document prepared by the government providing possible topics for their deliberations.

Some panel members said the broader scope would include entities successful in recruiting violent extremists who adapt quickly. and turn to video game services, file sharing sites and live audio apps.

That was pointed out by Minister Rodriguez’s spokeswoman, Laura Scaffidi the Expert Advisory Group on Online Safety is tasked with providing the government with advice on how to deal with harmful content online and noted that the 12 people on the panel had a wide range of opinions and experiences.

We look forward to the group’s continued work and the final summary, he added. We will take the time we need to fix it.