A Vancouver-based Internet advocacy group is encouraging Canadians concerned about proposed copyright reform legislation to take their protests online.

As second reading debate on Bill C-11, the Copyright Modernization Act, was set to conclude today (February 10), protests against the legislation have been organized in various cities across the country.

Steve Anderson, the executive director of OpenMedia.ca, is encouraging Canadians to make their voices heard over the coming days through social media. According to Anderson, a petition launched by the group in opposition to the bill has received over 20,000 new signatures today.

“If our MPs and legislators in Ottawa are listening, I think they’ll hear very clearly where Canadians stand on these things,” Anderson told the Straight by phone.

Government House Leader Peter Van Loan moved a time allocation motion on Wednesday (February 8) restricting debate on the legislation to two more days. The bill is set to go to a special legislative committee next week.

Anderson said his group’s main concern with the proposed legislation is a provision that would make it illegal to undo digital locks on mobile devices and media products.

“The problem with that is that sometimes digital locks can prevent you from accessing legal content or just using it in a legal way,” said Anderson.

He’s also concerned about the potential for “big media lobbyists” to push for more controversial changes to the legislation during the committee phase. Those potential amendments include restrictions on uploading content to websites, website blocking, and the introduction of an Internet termination provision.

Liberal Industry critic Geoff Regan issued a statement on the legislation today noting the party will be seeking amendments, including linking the circumvention of digital locks to actual copyright infringement.

“Over the past few weeks there have been persistent, troubling rumours that the Conservatives will attempt to amend C-11 by expanding the infringement provisions in the bill in order to give the government greater powers to block and pull down websites,” Regan said in the statement. “While we have not seen any such amendments, the Liberal Party will be ready to fight any changes that do not strike an appropriate balance between content creators and users.”

A number of protests against Bill C-11 were organized in Canadian cities including Regina, Montreal, Edmonton and Moncton. The rallies coincide with what is being dubbed an international day of protest Saturday against international copyright treaty ACTA, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement.

The demonstrations follow widespread public opposition to the Stop Online Privacy Act (SOPA) in the United States, which was shelved following protests from websites including Wikipedia.