Bill S-209: Protecting Young Persons from Exposure to Pornography Act

What is Bill S-209?

Kids are being exposed to online pornography at increasingly younger ages and there are several harms associated with youth exposure to pornography. Currently there are no safeguards keeping kids out of pornography websites in Canada—websites that feature content with themes of sexual violence and incest. Bill S-209 would require these websites to adopt age-verification or age-estimation methods to ensure kids cannot access this content.

We want to see Canada join the likes of France, Germany, the UK, and several US states, all of which have adopted Age Verification laws in order to keep kids safe online.

Help us Take Action

Your support is needed. Here are 2 ways to contact your MP and ask them to support Bill S-209.

1. Send our pre-written letter. It will be sent to your MP and other relevant ministers.
2. Or, search for your MP’s contact info and reach out to them directly. Phone calls are especially effective.

More about Bill S-209: the Protecting Young Persons from Exposure to Pornography Act

Read the full text of Bill S-209 and track its progress.

At consideration in committee in the Senate.

Here are some of the stated purposes of the act:

“The purpose of this Act is to protect public health and public safety and, in particular, to
(a) protect the mental health of young persons by restricting their access to pornographic material;
(b) protect Canadians — in particular, young persons and women — from the harmful effects of the exposure of young persons to pornographic material, including demeaning material and material depicting sexual violence; and
(c) deter organizations that make pornographic material available on the Internet for commercial purposes from allowing young persons to access that material.”

 

Next steps

• Share the Online Safety Handbook with your friends and family
• Follow and share our posts on Facebook and Instagram
• Subscribe to our newsletter
• Write your MP to express your support for Bill S-209
• Host a REVEAL Event in your community
• Donate to Defend Dignity to keep this important work moving forward