Mandatory Reporting

Cybertip.ca has been a driving force behind the creation of legislation making it mandatory to report child sexual abuse content. The Government of Canada, along with some provincial governments, has enacted legislation requiring individuals to report possible child pornography content. The goal of mandatory reporting is to facilitate the reporting of child pornography on the Internet, thus reducing the circulation of these harmful images, rescuing victims and identifying those committing crimes against children.

• Federal Mandatory Reporting

  An Act Respecting the Mandatory Reporting of Internet Child Pornography by Persons who Provide an Internet Service, Bill C-22 makes it mandatory for those who supply an Internet service to report on-line child pornography. Under this legislation, those who provide Internet services to the public are required to:

  • report tips they receive regarding Web sites where child pornography may be publicly available to the Canadian Centre for Child Protection (through its Cybertip.ca program); and
  • notify police and safeguard evidence if they believe that a child pornography offence has been committed using an Internet service that they provide.

  Suppliers of Internet services are not required to send personal subscriber information under this statute. Since this legislation was also designed to limit access to child pornography and avoid creating new consumers of this type of material, nothing in the Act requires or authorizes a person to seek out child pornography.

  If you are a provider of an Internet service and you have been advised, in the course of providing that service, of an IP address or a URL where child pornography may be available to the public, you may submit a report to Cybertip.ca by clicking here. If the URL/IP address in question is located on your network, please report this information to your local law enforcement agency.

• Provincial Mandatory Reporting

  In April 2009, Manitoba became the first province in Canada to proclaim the mandatory reporting of child pornography. The Child and Family Services Act was amended to include child pornography in the definition of child abuse. Under this legislation, any individual within Manitoba who sees something they believe to be child pornography is required by law to report it to Cybertip.ca.

  To make a report to Cybertip.ca, please click here.

  Every year, the tipline produces a report summarizing the results within Manitoba.

  PDF of the 2019/20 Annual Review PDF of the 2018/19 Annual Review PDF of the 2017/18 Annual Review