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CHPC Committee News Release

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Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage
House of Commons / Chambre des communes
Comité permanent du patrimoine canadien

For immediate release


NEWS RELEASE


The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage presents its report entitled “Harms caused by illegal, sexually explicit material online”

Ottawa, November 27, 2024 -

The Hon. Hedy Fry, Chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, today presented the report of a study on the harms caused by online illegal, sexually explicit material, such as child sexual abuse material and non-consensual intimate images, as well as pornographic deepfakes.

The report is the result of a study held in June 2024. A total of 12 witnesses from academia, civil society, and law enforcement shared perspectives about the prevalence of illegal, sexually explicit material online, its impacts on victims and on society more broadly, and the challenges of combatting its spread. They spoke about the growing threat of pornographic deepfakes.

“Witnesses stressed the urgency of taking various actions to stop the proliferation of child sexual abuse material and non-consensual intimate images, including those created by artificial intelligence,” said Dr. Fry. “They spoke in favour of platform regulation, increased public awareness and education, and greater resources for victims.”

Witness testimony and a link to the report can be found on the Parliament of Canada website at CHPC - Harms Caused by Online Viewing of Illegal Sexually Explicit Material.

The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage is composed of 12 members. The Hon. Hedy Fry (Vancouver Centre) serves as chair and Kevin Waugh (Saskatoon — Grasswood) and Martin Champoux (Drummond) as vice-chairs. The other members are the Hon. Niki Ashton (Churchill — Keewatinook Aski), Michael Coteau (Don Valley East), Anju Dhillon (Dorval — Lachine — LaSalle), Anna Gainey (Notre-Dame-de-Grâce — Westmount), Jacques Gourde (Lévis — Lotbinière), Jamil Jivani (Durham), Taleeb Noormohamed (Vancouver Grenville), Damien C. Kurek (Battle River — Crowfoot), and Patricia Lattanzio (Saint-Léonard — Saint-Michel).

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For more information, please contact:
Danielle Widmer, Clerk of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage
Tel: 613-995-6119
E-mail: CHPC@parl.gc.ca