Vaughn Palmer: Eby offers another opportunity to social media giants

Article content

VICTORIA – Premier David Eby has hit the pause button on a controversial bill that would have allowed the province to recover health care and other costs attributed to the marketing of risky products in British Columbia.

Two dozen business and industry groups had called on the New Democrats to suspend the bill, arguing that it was worded so broadly that it could be used to go after producers, distributors and retailers of all types.

Article content

Article content

Eby stated that the pause had nothing to do with those protests. Rather, she said, it was the willingness of the giant social media companies to join the government in immediately addressing online safety in British Columbia.

“It’s safe to say that we caught the attention of these major multinational companies,” the prime minister told reporters on Tuesday, citing the deal with Meta, Snapchat, Tik-Tok and X, the main players in the field.

“They understand our concern and the urgency with which we address this issue. “They also understand that the bill is still there.”

The New Democrats maintain that the legislation was never intended to capture the many British Columbia businesses and associations that complained about it.

Rather, it was directed at the owner of Facebook, Meta, and other social media companies, and the online harm caused to young people. A good example was the suicide of a young man from Prince George who was trapped by an online predator.

Still, there was nothing in the wording of Bill 12, the Public Health Cost Recovery and Accountability Act, that indicated its application would be limited to social media companies or their impact on young people.

Article content

Article content

Eby even admitted that the law could also be used to recover costs associated with vaping products and energy drinks.

Some critics wondered whether the bill’s broad concept of harms and risks could be used to prosecute the liquor board or safer-supply drug dispensers, products with proven harms greater than any sugary drink.

Perhaps thinking along those lines, the government specifically exempted itself from being prosecuted under the law.

This week’s announcement came as a surprise. On Monday, Attorney General Niki Sharma told reporters that the government had no intention of suspending the bill.

On Tuesday he justified his evasion by saying that the conversations with the social media companies were intense and confidential.

He said the pause was conditional on Meta and the other companies giving a quick response to the government’s concerns.

“British Columbians expect us to take action on online safety,” he told reporters. “What I will be looking for at this table is quick and immediate action to improve online safety.”

A primary goal is to address online bullying and “online mental health and anxiety that is increasing among young people,” he said.

Article content

“I’m going to watch alongside the prime minister as to whether or not we get real action on changes for young people right away,” the attorney general said.

“I want to sit down with these companies, look them in the face and see what they can do right away to improve outcomes for British Columbians.”

Meta has already pledged to rectify Eby’s concern that he should broadcast urgent news about wildfires, floods and other disasters in British Columbia. Last year, these were blocked, collateral damage in the company’s bitter dispute with the federal government over links to news from Canadian media companies. .

Eby says he was very skeptical about the companies’ initial contact. He now sees Meta’s willingness to hand over emergency information as an “important step” and is prepared to give the talks the benefit of the doubt.

Not long ago, he was scoring political points for social media companies in the harshest terms.

“The billionaires who run them resist accountability, they resist any suggestion that they bear responsibility for the damage they are causing,” the prime minister said on March 14, the day Bill 12 was introduced.

Article content

“The message to these big, anonymous companies is that in British Columbia they will be held responsible for the harm they cause to people.”

Given those characterizations, perhaps the big nameless billionaires will simply order their negotiating team to buy time until the legislation is suspended as scheduled on May 16.

“The legislation is not being withdrawn and we are not going to back down,” Sharma said. “We can always go back and bring back the legislation.”

The government could schedule a quick make-up session of the legislature in late May or June or even early September, before the chamber dissolves for the four-week campaign leading up to the scheduled Election Day, Oct. 19.

Most likely, if the New Democrats feel betrayed, they could return to war with the anonymous billionaires with a view to recreating Bill 12 after an expected election victory.

Even if the New Democrats get some satisfaction from social media companies in the short term, they have also presented House Bill 12 as a way to force marketers of risky products to help cover the cost of health care and other services. .

Article content

They probably mean it when they say Bill 12 is only on pause, not permanently consigned to the trash bin.

[email protected]

Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don’t miss the news you need to know – add VancouverSun.com and LaProvincia.com to your favorites and subscribe to our newsletters here.

You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber: for just $14 a month, you can get unlimited access to The Vancouver Sun, The Province, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Vancouver Sun | The province.

Article content