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A little-publicized bill that is making its way through Quebec’s legislative process has digital-law experts and others worried that the concept of a free and open Internet is being
threatened in the province.
Bill 74 includes a provision that seeks to force Internet service providers to block Quebecers’ access to online gambling sites that aren’t approved by the government.
Loto-Quebec says no gambling on next Pope
Atlantic Lottery, Loto-Quebec taking bets on who will win main Oscars
The province’s finance minister says the bill is necessary to protect the health and safety of Quebecers because illegal sites don’t apply the same
“responsible gaming rules” as sites run by the government and pose a “risk to the population.”
Critics say the Internet-censoring legislation – unprecedented in Canada
is a way for Quebec’s state-owned gambling authority to block competition and could lead to governments across the country deciding what citizens can and can’t view online.
Moreover, law experts say the legislation violates freedom of expression, contradicts federal telecommunications law and willlikely be challenged in court by Internet companies and civil rights
groups.
SOURCE-FULL STORY
threatened in the province.
Bill 74 includes a provision that seeks to force Internet service providers to block Quebecers’ access to online gambling sites that aren’t approved by the government.
Loto-Quebec says no gambling on next Pope
Atlantic Lottery, Loto-Quebec taking bets on who will win main Oscars
The province’s finance minister says the bill is necessary to protect the health and safety of Quebecers because illegal sites don’t apply the same
“responsible gaming rules” as sites run by the government and pose a “risk to the population.”
Critics say the Internet-censoring legislation – unprecedented in Canada
is a way for Quebec’s state-owned gambling authority to block competition and could lead to governments across the country deciding what citizens can and can’t view online.
Moreover, law experts say the legislation violates freedom of expression, contradicts federal telecommunications law and willlikely be challenged in court by Internet companies and civil rights
groups.
SOURCE-FULL STORY
