BC Attorney General advises social media, sites with adult content to respect intimate images.

B.C. Attorney General Nguse Sharma on Thursday sent a letter to several social media and adult content sites urging them to comply with the province’s new expedited legal process to prevent people from posting intimate images of others online without their consent.

“With this letter, I expect social media platforms, dating apps and pornography sites to do the right thing and align themselves with our laws to better protect people from this type of sexual abuse and to put people before profit,” she said in a news release. Conference in Victoria.

In March, Sharma revealed how the new Law of protection of intimate images The aim is to provide victims with access to control over their personal images and to provide justice for perpetrators.

On Thursday, he said the bill has now been passed into law and steps are being taken to implement it.

“We want reconciliation and a wider understanding of the implications for everyone,” she said.

The AG wants a series of meetings

Sharma said the letter sent to companies such as Meta, Twitter, Tinder, Grindr, PornHub and OnlyFans advises that a judge or court decision-maker can order a social media company, online platform or any website to cease and desist from broadcasting. A close up of the stage.

She said she expects to meet with the companies to discuss the BC law and how they can develop tools or systems to help the sites comply.

Sharma said she was in touch with Google.

“We had a very productive conversation, and I expect a lot of companies want to protect people from this kind of sexual abuse,” she said.

“We have discussed order types and how compliance can best be achieved through their platform and we look forward to further discussions with them and other companies.”

The law streamlines the process for taking down images, Sharma said, and gives victims a way to seek compensation from people who share their photos without permission.

The law covers intimate images, nude images, videos, live broadcasts and digitally altered images and videos, the province said.

It requires the perpetrators to delete the images and remove them from the Internet, search engines and all forms of electronic communication.

How long to download images?

Individuals who wish to have images removed can eventually participate. Proceedings with the BC Civil Procedure CourtThis will have the power to order people to stop posting or posting intimate images.

Sharma was asked on Thursday how much time he would take to delete images and provide compensation. She did not provide an exact timeline.

“The goal is to have a very fast-paced, trauma-informed process. We are working with the Civil Resolution Tribunal to launch a website, which will be the main forum for these types of orders,” she said. It will be accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

If a social media company, online platform or website does not comply with a court order, it may face consequences such as administrative fines and orders to pay compensation, Sharma said on Thursday. She said BC has tools to help enforce the new laws globally.

The BC law is expected to be implemented by regulation in the coming months, according to the province.

A provincial instrument, now in place in the various provinces, seeks to provide civil legislation on the subject to supplement the provisions of the Criminal Code of Canada.

In March 2015, the code was changed as part of the Protecting Canadians from Online Crime Act.

The law was drafted in response to public outcry over the suicide of Canadian teenagers Amanda Todd and Rehtah Parsons over cyberbullying and so-called sextortion.

On Thursday, the Canadian Center for Child Protection released new numbers on suspected child sexual abuse on major tech platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest.

The organizations required by law to report suspected child abuse will collectively report more than 31.8 million reports of child abuse by 2022. This is more than 2.6 million more than last year.

“These numbers are growing either because this material is becoming more widely distributed by consumers, or because companies are now starting to see coverage on their platforms, or both,” said Leanna Macdonald, executive director of the Canadian Children’s Centre. Protection (C3P) in emissions.

C3P says that electronic service providers are not legally required to use protective devices designed to prevent known child sexual abuse.

Macdonald said the numbers “continue to highlight the urgent need for governments to step in and enforce online security standards and care in the technology sector.”