Online platforms that are subject to requirements

(1) This section and section 325.2 apply to any online platform that, in the 12 months before the first day of the pre-election period, in the case of the publication on the platform of a partisan advertising message, or the 12 months before the first day of the election period, in the case of the publication on the platform of an election advertising message, was visited or used by Internet users in Canada an average of at least the following numbers of times per month:

(a) 3,000,000 times, if the content of the online platform
is available mainly in English;

(b) 1,000,000 times, if the content of the online platform is available mainly in French; or

(c) 100,000 times, if the content of the online platform is available mainly in a language other than English or French.

Registry of partisan advertising messages and election advertising messages

(2) The owner or operator of an online platform that sells, directly or indirectly, advertising space to the following persons and groups shall publish on the platform a registry of the persons’ and groups’ partisan advertising messages and election advertising messages published on the platform during that period:

(a) a registered party or eligible party;
(b) a registered association;
(c) a nomination contestant;
(d) a potential candidate or a candidate; or
(e) a third party that is required to register under subsection 349.6(1) or 353(1).

Information to be included in registry

(3) The registry referred to in subsection (2) shall include the following:

(a) an electronic copy of each partisan advertising message and each election advertising message published on the platform; and
(b) for each advertising message referred to in paragraph (a), the name of the person who authorized the advertising message’s publication on the platform, namely

(i) a registered agent of the registered party or eligible party, in the case of an advertising message whose publication was requested by a registered party or eligible party,
(ii) the financial agent of the registered association, in the case of an advertising message whose publication was requested by a registered association,
(iii) the financial agent of the nomination contestant, in the case of an advertising message whose publication was requested by a nomination contestant,
(iv) the official agent of the potential candidate or candidate, in the case of an advertising message whose publication was requested by a potential candidate or a candidate, and
(v) the financial agent of the registered third party, in the case of an advertising message whose publication was requested by a registered third party.

Publication period of registry

(4) The owner or operator of the online platform shall publish in the registry referred to in subsection (2) the information referred to in subsection (3) for each partisan advertising message and each election advertising message during the following periods:

(a) in the case of a partisan advertising message, during the period that begins on the day on which the online platform first publishes the advertising message and ends two years after

(i) the end of the election period of the general election immediately following the pre-election period, or
(ii) the day referred to in paragraph (b) of the definition pre-election period if there is no general election immediately

(b) in the case of an election advertising message, during the period that begins on the first day on which the online platform publishes such an advertising message and ends two years after the end of the election period.

Information to be kept after publication period

(5) The owner or operator of the online platform shall keep the information that was included in the registry referred to in subsection (2) in respect of each partisan advertising message and each election advertising message for five years after the end of the applicable publication period referred to in subsection (4).