A young woman who says private photos of her in underwear were shared online felt powerless and sick, DR reports, as the number of teenage boys convicted of sexual offences has risen over the past decade. Freja, whose name DR has changed to protect her, was on holiday when she received around 100…

A British Columbia tribunal has overturned a $100,000 penalty imposed on social media platform X for not deleting an intimate image following a protection order. The case involved an image shared via an account that was subject to a court order requiring its removal. Instead of deleting the image globally, X blocked its visibility in Canada while keeping it accessible elsewhere. The platform challenged the ruling, arguing that the tribunal lacked authority to enforce a provincial law globally. Vice-chair Eric Regehr of the tribunal stated that internet intermediaries can avoid penalties if they demonstrate reasonable efforts to address unlawful intimate images on their platforms. Online safety advocate Carol Todd, known for her advocacy following her daughter Amanda's death, expressed disappointment but not surprise at the decision, criticizing big tech companies for evading accountability under provincial laws. Experts, including UBC professor Heidi Tworek, emphasize the need for stronger federal legislation, noting that Bill C-34, the Safe Social Media Act, aims to establish a federal digital regulator and includes provisions for synthetic images like deepfakes. The tribunal also rejected X's request to recover over $100,000 in legal costs from the complainant. The ruling highlights ongoing challenges in holding social media platforms accountable for content moderation under current legal frameworks, with calls for more robust federal measures to address gaps in provincial regulations.

Manitoba targets revenge porn with new laws to protect intimate images and hold offenders accountable.