December 2, 2025
OTTAWA – Canada must treat online radicalization and youth extremism as threats to its national security, B’nai Brith Canada warned in an appearance before Parliamentarians Monday.
“The spread of disinformation […] is having a devastating impact on the well-being of Canadian children and adolescents,” said Richard Robertson, B’nai Brith Canada’s Director of Research and Advocacy, during testimony before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage (CHPC). “Not only are [youth] are being victimized by this obscene content, but our online spaces are also, sadly, being used to inculcate them towards violent extremism.”
The CHPC, which is studying the effects of social media and influencers on Canadian youth, has an opportunity to make formal recommendations that could influence the Federal Government’s policies.
B’nai Brith Canada has warned for years about the damaging impact of unfettered disinformation and viral hate content on social media. In our Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents in Canada for the year 2024, we demonstrated that antisemitism is thriving in the online realm, including on social media, and that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is contributing to this trend.
During his remarks yesterday, Robertson referred to B’nai Brith Canada’s written submission to the CHPC, in which we recommended the following:
- That the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security (SECU, a separate committee in the House of Commons), commence a study on the threat of youth radicalization online;
- That a national program be developed to enhance the digital literacy of youth relating to misinformation and disinformation that they may encounter online;
- That Canada honour its commitments, as expressed in a communique during the meeting of G-7 interior and security ministers last month, to combat online harms such as radicalization and disinformation resulting from social media.
“Now is the time for our Federal Government to engage proactively against the spread of online radicalization amongst Canadian youth and adolescents,” B’nai Brith Canada wrote. “For too long, our national security agencies and other societal stakeholders have been ringing the proverbial alarm bells regarding the dangers of allowing this scourge to further metastasize without adequate redress.”