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Originally Posted by photon
So here's a question, does this have any impact on other kinds of material that is linked to.
I.e. if someone linked to a site that published the name of a young offender or circumvented a publication ban or whatever, would that be seem the same way as in this case?
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The SCC kept their decision to a pretty narrow set of facts and refused to speculate on other kinds of hyperlinks. This won't be a binding or definitive decision for the kinds of issues you identify above. However, I'm with Vlad and think that a mere hyperlink to a site that would violate a publication ban isn't enough to constitute publication.
The SCC commented that if in the context of the post surrounding the link there was some sort of endorsement of the contents of the link, that this might be a different situation and could constitute publication for the purposes of the defamation analysis. Perhaps a post that suggested the name of a young offender could be discovered by following this link without actually posting the person's identity could be a violation of the YCJA or whatever publication ban in place because of that added context.
Another difference with respect to young offenders is that the publication ban contained in the Youth Criminal Justice Act goes a bit further than simply banning the publication of the young person's name:
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110. (1) Subject to this section, no person shall publish the name of a young person, or any other information related to a young person, if it would identify the young person as a young person dealt with under this Act.
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I think "any other information related to a young person" is broad enough and opens the door to an interpretation that might attract liability for someone who posts even a bare link to a site identifying the young person.