Bill Detail
An Act to amend the Criminal Code (consent to pornographic material)
This enactment amends the Criminal Code to prohibit a person from making, distributing or advertising pornographic material for commercial purposes without having first ascertained that, at the time the material was made, each person whose image is depicted in the material was 18 years of age or older and gave their express consent to their image being depicted. It also makes it an offence for the operator of a website to fail to remove pornographic material if the maker of the material or a person whose image is depicted in the material requests that the material be removed.
This bill, known as the Stopping Internet Sexual Exploitation Act (the Protect Act), aims to combat the creation and distribution of non-consensual pornographic material. It proposes making it illegal to produce or share pornography for commercial purposes without ensuring that everyone depicted was at least 18 years old at the time of creation and gave their explicit consent. It also makes website operators responsible for removing such material if requested by the person depicted or the creator.