Freedom of speech, defamation, harassment or racial discrimination? Know the boundaries.

In this article you will read:

It’s amazing! It seems that the human brain does not have the ability to manage this matter well.

We say things on social media or in email that we probably wouldn’t say face to face. Social pages have a strange property that their audience is less afraid in that space than in the real world. Faces are covered, there is time to think and we don’t need to answer for our actions in the moment. Maybe we have a mask that takes care of our visibility and we worry less about the real world. It seems that we, today’s humans, feel more relaxed in the virtual space to express our opinions.

Yes, we are in the world of virtual pages, people are all on the Internet, Google, Telegram, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn; Recently, Clubhouse and several other platforms allow users to share their opinions and ideas with others. Users have complete freedom of speech and can tell others what is on their mind loud and clear.

The issue of freedom of speech is a social issue that has been discussed in thousands of books, magazines, and blogs, and experts have analyzed its aspects, and it is beyond my expertise.

But what is the purpose of this article?

Basic knowledge and familiarity with concepts that may be unfamiliar to people and may be harmed due to lack of familiarity with these concepts. Given that my expertise is in immigration, here I have collected concepts that are useful for immigrants. Whether you are in your country and intend Immigrate to Canada You have it, what are you ready for? Entering Canada Whether you are or live in Canada, you should know these concepts well because each of them alone can be a solution in your daily life in Canada and prevent heavy damages.

Before entering the article, I will introduce you to two words: Xenophobia and Xenophilia
xenophobia It is intense fear of everything foreign and foreign (everything that is outside one’s society or country) and xenophilia On the contrary, it is a strong interest and desire for any thing or person or even foreign behavior. Considering the globalization of the world and the closer of nations to each other, familiarizing with these concepts and researching each of them can be useful.

First, I will open the definitions of each of the mentioned items for you. The premise of this article is about Canada, but many of the things mentioned are also true for other countries.

Freedom of expression Freedom of Speech

Freedom of speech is recognized as a fundamental freedom in Canada. This issue is stated in the second clause of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

But in paragraph 1 of the same law, another issue is mentioned. According to the first clause of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom, in cases where reasonable restrictions are placed on the right to freedom of expression by the law and in the field of freedom and democracy, these restrictions are acceptable.
“If the law imposes reasonable restrictions on freedom of expression in the field of freedom and democracy, these restrictions are acceptable.”

What are the logical limits on freedom of speech?

Freedom of speech is not absolute in Canada and anywhere in the world. As mentioned, the first paragraph of the freedom of speech law allows the government to enact laws that limit freedom of speech, but these restrictions must be reasonable and not question the basis of a free and democratic society.

So we can say whatever we want? yes But within a clear and logical boundary “Reasonable Limits” and to the extent that we do not harm others. But how is damage determined? Stay with me because we must first review a series of concepts and then analyze the common cases that have led to legal complaints.

Harassment Harassment

If you live in Canada, you must hear this word a lot. If you haven’t heard it, you should be familiar with it. Of course, the discussion of “Harsement” is hot in many countries of the world, and it is not unique to Canada. But Canadians are more sensitive about this issue, and if you immigrate to Canada, be sure to research this issue. Harassment can take many forms. All the things mentioned in this article are considered a form of Harassment. In continuation with Types of Harassment You will get to know:

Written or verbal harassment

Imagine making fun of someone’s accent in your workplace. Make ethnic jokes or openly express your disdain for his race. Discriminate between people or act in such a way that others perceive that your behavior is intentionally harassing someone.
You may send an email that contains photos that are offensive to people. All these are examples of harassment. Be very careful about these things especially in your workplace because people react immediately because of the public awareness of these things in Canada.

All the mentioned cases are also true on the pages of social networks.

Physical harassment

This is a bit more complicated. Imagine that you are joking and talking with your colleague at work and one of you may make a movement with your hand that is not accepted in the crowd. As soon as someone sees this, they can file a complaint against you for harassment. Let’s review some examples of physical harassment:

• Touch the other person without asking.
• Repeatedly get too close to someone physically. It means that your distance from him is very close. For example, if a person
• Follow too closely, it’s a crime.
• Pretend to make a cursing gesture with your body movements.
• Suggest relationships to someone with facial expressions and gestures. For example, wink at someone.

Visual harassment

This applies to situations where you cause others to see abnormal images.

Imagine you are looking at pictures or porn videos at work. Your colleague happens to see your monitor. Here, your colleague can sue you for visual harassment.

Harassment punishment

If you are convicted of the crime of harvesting, you should be punished depending on the amount of the crime. Serious crimes are punishable by up to 10 years in prison, and light crimes are usually punishable by a fine of five thousand dollars and up to 18 months in prison.

Talking with anger and hatred – spreading hatred Hate Speech

“Outrage” occurs when there is violence against a particular group, race, gender, or ethnicity. Pay attention that the word violence does not mean to say a sentence or a phrase with anger to someone. Let me give an example:
In a conversation with your friend, you describe your daily events:

“I had gone shopping, these so-and-so’s were buying all the expensive clothes.And you continue:We went to a certain restaurant and everyone smelled»

This simple conversation is a form of violence and is a crime in Canada. For example, using the word “Chinese” in this phrase is a form of racism and hatred and is not acceptable. Your friend can sue you for this kind of literature.

Also, topics that unnecessarily target a large group of society and are dangerous for them are in this category. For example, the issue of “pornography for children”.

Are you interested in reading more? On the CBC News website 7 Hate Speech files It is given in Canada, which I recommend to read when you have a chance.

Obscenity Obscenity

Obscenity in any form is a crime. According to Section 163 of the Criminal Code in Canada, any type of obscenity including photos, words, text, video or any form of publication of these items is considered a crime.

Defamation or defamation Defamation

Defamation is a false verbal or written statement about another that damages his reputation and causes him to be despised or attacked or hated by others. This issue is considered a tort based on Section 289 Section 1 of the Criminal Code in Canada, which is a type of civil crime.

Experts recommend that you record any type of comment or message as conservatively as possible. Do not take risks and do not register a comment that you suspect can seriously damage the reputation of an individual.

Defamation in written form Libel

Defamation or defamation is called libel if it is in writing. For example, you leave a comment on one of the social pages such as Instagram that unjustly harms the reputation of a person or a company, in this case you have committed defamation.

Defamation on social pages, websites and Telegram and WhatsApp groups

Social platforms do not publish a topic by themselves, but the administrator of the page where content is published is responsible for that content. Any topic that is written on social pages is considered a type of defamatory libel. Whatever is published on the website or group or somewhere, the owner of that group will be responsible for it. Because in fact, that person provided the infrastructure.

In large platforms, you are usually required to make a commitment during registration, which most people do not pay attention to. Based on that commitment, these platforms put you on the side of the victim’s account. Of course, these platforms themselves have monitoring systems and try to remove content that violates their own rules, but in some cases, this does not happen for any reason, and the injured person has the possibility to complain to these platforms and to the person who harmed him.

The link to the report of defamation on Instagram

Link report of defamation on LinkedIn

Link to the Facebook defamation report

Defamation in unwritten form Slander

Defamation may be unwritten. The meaning of unwritten is that no trace of it is left. Imagine someone making a gesture with a hand or verbally slandering someone. These cases are also considered defamation crimes.

What is the result of Defamation?
Like other crimes, defamation does not lead to jail time or the like, and usually the defamed person seeks financial damages. This damage can range from several thousand dollars to several hundred thousand dollars and depends on the reputation and circumstances of each case.

But who is guilty and what is his crime?

It depends on the level and complexity of the crime. In most cases, the factors that spread a defamation are placed in several layers. Imagine a book that was published and attacked someone. Various people have contributed to this book.

Or imagine in virtual space, someone creates a group and others in that group may comment. In Internet forums, someone hosts the forum and others leave comments. In all these cases, all these people, whether the person who launched that platform or the person who participated in creating the content, will be guilty on their own level.

Examples of defamation cases

• Johnston v Aldridge 2018 – $100,000 fine for a Facebook post

This fight was formed in 2018. The case was that Eldridge published a post on Facebook that seriously damaged Johnston’s reputation. Eldridge’s post prompted other users to attack Johnston and call him inappropriate names.
Johnston’s Facebook page had six thousand followers and his Facebook post received more than twelve thousand likes.
The judge of this case finally decided to fine 100 thousand dollars against the publisher of this Facebook post. He also asked him to completely delete that post from his Facebook.

Full text of Johnston v Aldridge 2018

More or less similar lawsuits have resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages. I will briefly mention the other two cases and if you want to read the detailed description of the lawsuit by searching them on Google.

• The litigation between Hee Creations Group Ltd. v. Chow, which resulted in $115,000 in damages.
• The case between Magno v. Balita, which resulted in 100,000 dollars in damages

Supreme Court of Canada website for your further researchBy clicking on the Cases button, you can search and read legal cases in any case you want.

How not to get involved in defamation?

Your feeling is understandable. Maybe you are very upset with someone or you feel that you have not received proper service somewhere. You may feel that your rights have been violated. Now you are going to feel at least a little bit better by damaging that person’s reputation.

You may have been annoyed or suffered damage, but by fueling the issue on social media, you put yourself in greater danger and the situation turns into complicated legal stories.

Administrators of internet pages and groups:
be careful You are responsible for each and every post and comment made on your page. Your soul may not know about it either, but anyway you have provided the infrastructure and that is enough.
Try to set strict rules for your page. Make it clear that your page is not a place to insult or attack or defame others.

Social network users:
All users are responsible for every word they say or write. So be sure to do this with extreme caution. Yes, I recommend caution. If you’re angry or have an idea, or if you have an opinion about someone that might not need to be said publicly or on social media, send it to that person privately. If you did not receive good service and are unhappy, seek help from legal authorities. Do not rush and be calm and patient. Do not try to get along with others or get others along with you.

Racism or racial discrimination

As you can see in the picture taken from the text of the Canadian Human Rights Act, these cases are racial discrimination.

Discriminatory acts based on race, nationality, ethnicity, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, identity, marital status, familial status, genetic characteristics, disability, or conviction for a crime that has been pardoned or suspended.

Racism is an opinion and belief that one group is superior and better than another group. Racism can come in jokes, jokes, or conversations that are obvious in this case. But racism may be rooted in thoughts and the person may not express it openly. Perhaps there is racism in individual values ​​and beliefs. In most cases, people don’t even know they have these beliefs.

Racism is illegal in most parts of the world. In Canada, any kind of racism is considered a crime. Any word, action or opinion that causes another person to be in a difficult situation because of his race is illegal and is considered discrimination and racial harassment.

You have to be very careful on social media. Simple comments can be the basis of a lawsuit. Do not relate any topic to people’s race or ethnicity.

If you are an immigrant in Canada, try to learn about racism in its different layers and forms. If you feel that you have been racially harassed or you have seen racial discrimination somewhere, you can pursue the issue through legal means. If you need to report an issue that happened to you or you witnessed it, file a complaint by filling out the form on the Human Rights Commission website.

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