Canadian MPs Advance Porn Record-Keeping Bill

OTTAWA—The House of Commons voted unanimously on a second reading to advance Bill C-270, which would require record-keeping for all pornography produced in Canada. Violators would be charged with criminal penalties. A vote was held on May 8 for Bill C-270, which was proposed by the conservative Peace River–Westlock MP Arnold Viersen of Alberta. Now, the bill has been advanced to the Commons Justice Committee for further review. According to the bill, any person who is depicted in pornographic visual media, like a video or image, must be of the legal age to perform, 18 or older, and affirmatively consent. Language in the bill is also broad to ensure that a person's consent is acquired to be depicted in any visual medium and format. A crime is committed if the individuals producing the porn and distributing it for commercial purposes do so without consent and fail to prove the person is 18 or older. People who produce porn and distribute it for commercial purposes are also required to acquire material evidence and written confirmation that each person depicted consents, is 18 or older, and at no point revoked their consent for any reason during production. The bill also allows government agencies to promulgate regulations regarding the obtaining and retention of age and consent records. “For years, pornographic platforms in Canada have published sexually explicit material without any requirement to verify the age or consent of those depicted in them,” said Viersen via local news reports. This is true. Most adult platforms with productions and operations in Canada, especially in Quebec, where a large concentration of major adult industry companies are headquartered, rely on U.S.-based legal standards for record-keeping requirements. The U.S. Department of Justice, through its Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, regulates existing federal record-keeping requirements for adult entertainment performers, producers, and studios.  18 U.S. Code 2257 is the criminal statute that regulates record-keeping and levies criminal penalties on people who fail to meet the requirements outlined in the statute. 2257 compliance is quite visible on the vast majority of legally operating platforms. It is often found at the bottom of website pages and features contact information for custodians of records and other notices indicating compliance. Adult websites around the world rely on 2257 compliance standards, given that the largest market for pornography consumption is the United States. But Viersen is correct to point out that Canada lacks a specific statute. This would be a welcomed addition to regulatory overhauls several adult entertainment companies are open to, including pornography giant Aylo, headquartered in Montreal. Note that Viersen is a staunch critic of the adult entertainment industry and is considered a religious conservative. For example, he applauded the overturning of Roe v. Wade in the U.S. despite being a Canadian MP, and has platformed Project Veritas off-shoot Sound Investigations, a group of far-right journalists in the Commons, by citing their heavily one-sided video series called the "Pornhub Tapes." Nonetheless, Bill C-270 appears to be a reasonable measure.