I know firsthand how harmful it can be when someone uses your image without consent. I was a victim and they spread it online until it went viral. The damage was immediate and lasting. No one should have to go through this. And yet in Canada today, anyone’s face, body, or voice can be stolen, altered, and spread online without consent.

 

With the rise of artificial intelligence, the risks have grown even worse. AI can now generate lifelike deepfake videos and clone voices with chilling accuracy. This means that anyone — including children — can be impersonated, sexualized, mocked, or manipulated in ways they never agreed to. For adults, these abuses can destroy careers, reputations, and mental health. For children, the damage is even more devastating: they can become victims of exploitation, bullying, or lifelong digital footprints that they never chose.

 

These aren’t hypothetical scenarios — they are happening right now. Across the world, children’s faces are being stolen from innocent photos and turned into abusive content. Adults are seeing their voices cloned to commit fraud or to spread harmful lies. Victims are left with almost no protection and no quick way to stop the spread.

 

Canada’s current privacy and consent laws are outdated and too slow to address these harms. If you file a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC), the wait times can stretch for months, leaving victims exposed while the damage multiplies. Court remedies like defamation or harassment claims are costly and time-consuming, often out of reach for everyday people. By the time a decision is made, the content may have already been shared millions of times across platforms that profit from engagement but avoid responsibility.

 

This lack of accountability creates enormous personal and social costs. Victims suffer financially, emotionally, and socially while abusers face little consequence. Parents are left terrified for their children’s safety online. And taxpayers ultimately shoulder the burden of an overwhelmed system that cannot keep up with the speed and scale of AI-driven abuse.

 

Other countries are moving ahead. Nations like Denmark are granting citizens automatic rights over their face, voice, and likeness, ensuring fast takedowns and stronger penalties for misuse. Canada must follow suit by modernizing its laws to reflect today’s realities.

You might be asking why should I care?

 Protecting Kids & Teens – Stops predators, bullies, and online exploiters from misusing their photos or videos.

Protecting Families – Prevents scammers from impersonating loved ones to commit fraud or extort money.

Protecting Adults & Workers – Shields employees, professionals, and everyday people from being harassed, doxxed, or deepfaked online.

Defending Identity – Prevents strangers from stealing your face, voice, or likeness for catfishing, scams, or impersonation.

Fighting Fraud – Makes it harder for criminals to use stolen images in fake ads, romance scams, or identity theft.

Stopping Harassment – Protects against stalkers, abusers, or bad actors using images to intimidate or publicly shame victims.

Preventing Exploitation – Blocks people from profiting off your likeness without permission (think AI deepfakes, fake endorsements, revenge content).

Safeguarding Reputation – Once your image is online under false pretenses, it can damage jobs, relationships, and mental health. Stronger laws mean faster takedowns.

Closing Legal Loopholes – Right now, bad actors hide behind “free speech” or tech loopholes to exploit people. Tougher laws put accountability where it belongs.

Mental Health Protection – Victims of image misuse often deal with shame, anxiety, depression, and even suicidal thoughts. Protecting privacy saves lives.

 

Key Elements:

• Establishing a copyright to one’s likeness/image
• Instituting mandatory takedown timelines (e.g., 24–48 hours like the EU requires).
• Accounting for costs incurred by victims: 
  Therapy, lost work, moving homes, or changing schools for kids - it’s not just “privacy,” it’s real-life damage.
• Strong penalties.

Global examples:

European Union (EU)

Digital Services Act (DSA): Platforms must remove harmful/deceptive content quickly or face heavy fines.

AI Act (2024): Requires transparency when AI is used to generate images/voices and bans some harmful deepfakes.
Strong “right to be forgotten” laws under GDPR, giving citizens the power to demand content removal.

Australia

Online Safety Act (2021): Gives the eSafety Commissioner power to order platforms to remove non-consensual intimate images, deepfakes included.

Platforms that fail face fines of up to $555,000.

South Korea

One of the first to criminalize deepfake pornography (especially K-pop idols were targeted).

Offenders face up to 5 years in prison or heavy fines.

This gives people a direct legal right to demand takedowns and damages when their likeness is misused.

Let’s  make a change and fix the gaps in our out-dated system. 

Please share and show support to make this an issue for our local MP’s & Federal Government 

It’s time. AI and tech is becoming more advanced by the moment. 

We need a change now.

500 signatures → minimum; forces House tabling + government response within 45 days.

2,000–5,000 signatures → enough for local media coverage + cross-MP pressure.

10,000+ signatures → national traction, potential committee study.

25,000–50,000+ signatures → strong leverage for Private Member’s Bill or government motion.

 

If you’re hesitant about this petition, I understand—concerns about free speech, government overreach, or whether this issue feels personal might give you pause.

But please take a moment to reflect: this isn’t about limiting creativity or adding red tape. It’s about protecting real people—children, families, workers—from devastating harms like deepfake exploitation, fraud, and emotional trauma.

Imagine your photo twisted into abusive content or your voice used to scam loved ones. These aren’t just fears; they’re happening now, and Canada’s outdated laws aren’t keeping up.

Other nations are leading the way. The EU demands harmful content be removed in 24–48 hours. Australia fines platforms up to $555,000 for failing to act. South Korea jails those who misuse deepfakes. We’re not reinventing the wheel—just asking for practical, proven protections to safeguard our identities, reputations, and mental health from AI-driven abuse.

You might wonder if other issues matter more or if this feels distant. But privacy is personal—it’s your face, your voice, your life. The costs—therapy, lost jobs, kids changing schools—hit hard. With AI advancing daily, waiting risks more harm. Signing this petition takes seconds, and just 500 signatures can force a government response, pushing Canada to join global leaders in protecting what’s ours.