Fate of TTC’s $1.9M art installation hinges on word police

Fears customers could misuse interactive display lead to panel that will draft list of banned terms

As if operating the third largest transit system in North America weren’t challenging enough, the TTC is set to take on an even more daunting task: determining what constitutes hate speech.

At the centre of the debate is an unlikely instigator: a $1.9-million public art installation and worries about its po- tential for misuse by the public it is intended to serve.

The artwork, called Light-Spell, was installed at the Pioneer Village Station on the Spadina subway extension and consists of suspended light elements, which customers can use to spell out messages of up to eight characters in length using keypads on the platform level below.

But although the agency has already paid for the work, it has sat unused for months. Before the extension opened in December, the TTC decided not to activate it because of concerns that customers could use it to display dangerous or hateful messages in the station.

In addition to words that might incite panic or cause harm, TTC acknowledged “it’s possible” customers could type obscenities

A report going to the agency’s board on Tuesday outlines a potential resolution, which involves coming up with a list of words that would be banned from use on the art screen, and convening an independent panel to figure out which messages violate Canadian law.

TTC spokesperson Brad Ross conceded the TTC has “struggled” to find a solution. He hopes this is it.

“We need to make sure that everybody who rides the system, whether frequently or infrequently, always feels welcome,” Ross said.

According to the report, after consultation with the artists who designed the piece, the two parties agreed to a handful of principles that would allow Light Spell to be switched on at last. They include a provision that the TTC create a list of terms to be prohibited from being displayed on the grounds they “compromise safety” or “incite panic or cause harm to passengers.”

The TTC would also reserve the right to immediately “remove or quarantine” any content deemed contrary to Canadian laws.

Messages removed or are subject to public complaints would be referred to an independent panel “with the necessary experience to evaluate inappropriate content.” The panel would decide if the terms should be prohibited or reinstated.

The installation’s terms of use would be displayed prominently, and the interactive feature would be disabled at certain times of the night.

Ross said the agency hasn’t yet created a list of terms to ban for safety reasons, but is considering words such as “fire,” “bomb” or “jump.”

Terms that don’t compromise safety or violate the law could be permitted, and Ross said “it’s possible” customers could write obscenities using the installation.

“People might start to complain about that and then we would have to have a look.”

To filter out unwanted content, Realities: united, the German art studio that designed Light Spell, would have to modify the installation’s software. So far they have resisted attempts to alter the work in order to censor messages.

According to the TTC report, Realities: united received $200,000 for the “concept and implementation” of the work, while the remaining $1.7 million went to the design and installation of the piece at Pioneer Village.

Jan Edler, a co-founder of Realities: united, said the studio has had a “constructive dialogue” with the TTC, but not all is resolved.

“In general, the spirit of the installation is still to be an open installation that allows (it) to be uncensored. But we’re looking into details.”