If you encounter any material online that you feel should be reported, you should first decide whether the offending material is actually illegal, or just offensive or annoying.
Determining the difference isn't easy. Material that may appear to be illega - such as child pornography or hate literature - can sometimes only be defined as such by the courts. Ultimately, the law decides such matters.
Reporting illegal Internet content
Canada has a CyberTipline that handles tips from individuals wishing to report the online sexual exploitation of children.
You can contact the CyberTipline if you have information regarding incidents of child pornography, luring, child sex-tourism, or child prostitution. You can make report directly online at www.cybertip.ca or use the toll free phone line: 1-866-658-9022.
The RCMP and the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police recommend that you report to your local police any of the following illegal online situations:
- Cyberstalking or harassment
- Internet fraud
- Dangerous and illegal activities, such as bomb-making, terrorism, or unlicensed trade in weapons
- Physical threats
- Hate crimes, such as advocating genocide
- Hacking: illegally breaking into individual computers or computer networks
Many urban police departments in Canada have a high-tech crime unit. If none exists, report the Internet offence to the police as you would any normal crime. Make sure you document all the details relating to the incident and the material. If there's any evidence on your computer that the police may want to examine, do not turn the machine off.
Child pornography and stalking can also be reported to the CyberTipLine on the Web site of the U.S.-based organization National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (see right sidebar). It will pass the information on to authorities in the proper jurisdiction.
Illegal situations that are not emergencies should be reported to your Internet Service Provider (ISP) as well as to the police. Most ISPs have Acceptable Use Policies (AUPs) that clearly define privileges and guidelines for those using their services, and the actions that can be taken if those guidelines are violated. Such AUPs can cover everything from rules about advertising in a newsgroup, to junk email, to illegal acts.
The Canadian Association of Internet providers (CAIP) has a Code of Conduct stating that its members will not host illegal content and "will make a reasonable effort to investigate legitimate complaints about alleged illegal content or network abuse, and will take appropriate action."
| Tip: Always check out the Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) of any Internet Service Provider you're thinking of signing up with. |
However, ISPs do not have the legal power to decide that material is illegal, and so most are reluctant to remove suspect content from their servers without official direction from a law enforcement agency. Otherwise they are potentially liable for wrongfully removing a Web site, and/or for breaching the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Reporting offensive or annoying Internet content and activities
If you have complaints about Internet content that is not actually illegal - such as spam (junk email), privacy violations, adult pornography, hateful content, etc. - they can be reported either to your own ISP, or to the ISP responsible for the content.
For complaints about newsgroups or Web sites hosted by your ISP, send your comments to: abuse@yourISPname.com or postmaster@yourISPname.com. Forward any offensive email you've received (including spam or harassing messages) to those addresses. Remember to keep a record of all your correspondence.
| Tip: If you want to act, do it quickly! Sites with illegal content tend to change their Web addresses often. |
If you wish to complain about content residing on another ISP's server, contact your Internet Service Provider and ask them to help you locate the host of the offensive content. If your ISP can't help, you can use the following Web sites to track down domain name holders: 
