🍁 civid v1

Status and purpose

• Bill C-277 was introduced at first reading on May 6, 2026. It would create the Regulating the Online Use of Deepfakes Act to regulate online deepfakes, increase transparency and protect individuals from significant harm.

Who and what it covers

• The bill applies to operators of online undertakings or internet-connected platforms, including social media services.
• It defines a deepfake as an AI-edited or AI-created photo, video or audio recording that uses or replaces an individual’s identifiable characteristics, such as appearance or voice, and is intended to appear or sound authentic.
• Significant harm includes psychological harm, damage to reputation or relationships, economic losses and identity theft.

Operator duties

Operators would have to:

• Establish a process to identify deepfakes shared through their products or services, including user reporting mechanisms.
• Take reasonable steps to ensure shared deepfakes are clearly identified as such.
• Take reasonable steps to prevent the sharing of deepfakes that may cause significant harm, and remove them as soon as feasible after identification.
• Keep records needed to determine whether they comply. Regulations could specify recordkeeping requirements.

Enforcement and penalties

• The government could make regulations establishing an administrative monetary penalty scheme, including which breaches are violations, penalty amounts, procedures, reviews and appeals.
• Directors or officers who participate in or authorize a violation could also be liable, whether or not proceedings are brought against the operator.
• Continuing breaches could be designated as separate violations for each day. Unpaid penalties could be recovered as a debt.
• The bill says penalties are intended to promote compliance, not punish. A violation would not be an offence, and section 126 of the Criminal Code would not apply to it.

Key changes and outstanding details

• The bill would establish a new regulatory framework; the provided text does not amend existing legislation.
• Penalty amounts, specified violations and many enforcement procedures are left to regulations. The text gives no implementation date or cost estimate.