Bill S-210, the controversial age verification bill which purports to limit access to pornography for those under 18, could be headed for a final vote of approval in the House of Commons within the next couple of weeks. Much of the concern with the bill has focused on the privacy and free speech implications of mandating the technology and opening the door to website blocking. Yet often missing from the debate has been a deeper, more nuanced examination of pornography including distinctions between unlawful and so-called awful but lawful content, the role and responsibility of pornography platforms, and alternatives to the S-210 reliance on blocking and age verification technologies. That gap in the debate has now been filled by Professor Elaine Craig of the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University in her new book, Mainstreaming Porn. Professor Craig joins the Law Bytes podcast to discuss the book, the massive influence of porn platforms, the problems with Bill S-210, and the legal mechanisms she thinks would best address the issue. 

The podcast can be downloaded here, accessed on YouTube, and is embedded below. Subscribe to the podcast via Apple Podcast, Google Play, Spotify or the RSS feed. Updates on the podcast on Twitter at @Lawbytespod.

Show Notes:

Elaine Craig, Mainstreaming Porn: Sexual Integrity and the Law Online

Elaine Craig, Age Verification Laws Won’t Protect Kids From Porn – And They Could Even Make Things Worse

Credits:

CBC News, Can Canada Really Block Kids from Watching Porn?

Related posts:

Bill S-210 is Just the Beginning: How a Canadian Digital Lobby Group is Promoting a Standard to “Foster Widespread Adoption of Age Verification Technologies in Canada” Conservatives Double Down on Support for Mandated Internet Age Verification and Website Blocking: Why Can’t Canada Get Common Sense Digital Policy? Bill S-210 Study Without Witnesses?: Why a Conservative Filibuster May Lead to New Internet Age Verification Requirements and Website Blocking Legislation