The Conservative Party of Canada has reiterated their opposition to digital IDs after a Canadian Press story suggested the Opposition leader might support them.

The issue of digital IDs has been reignited after a Canadian Press story noted the Conservatives, including leader Pierre Poilievre, support a private member’s bill (S-210) that would require age verification for internet users to access porn sites. 

The Conservatives support the idea of age verification, but have not suggested how such could be effectively done, leading the Canadian Press to speculate that “Options could include the use of a digital government ID.” 

A spokesperson for Poilievre, Sebastian Skamski, subsequently issued a statement saying the Conservatives “do not support any measures that would allow the imposition of a digital ID or infringe on the privacy of adults and their freedom to access legal content online.”

How to age verify users who access porn sites? 

While discussing the bill in the House of Commons on November 23, 2023, Conservative MP Karen Vecchio said “There should be no direct collection of identity documentation by the site publisher from the pornographic site, no age estimates based on the user’s web browser history and no processing of biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying or authenticating a natural person.”

Vecchio did admit that she doesn’t know how age verification could be done, adding that “This is exactly why we need to take this to committee, so we can talk about the technology.” 

Alarming stats on kids accessing porn

A recent study by Common Sense Media, titled ‘Teens and Pornography,’ reveals alarming facts about teenage consumption of online pornography. According to the research,  73% of teenagers aged 13 to 17 have viewed pornography on the internet. 

Furthermore, over half of the participants (54%) encountered pornography for the first time before or by the age of 13.