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VOICE ARCHIVE

Michael Geist

@mgeist
64 posts
2025-07-01
Caving on DST just latest bad risk assessment that has become the hallmark of Canadian tech policy. Talk tough, practically dare companies and governments to respond, and then frantically seek an exit strategy when they do. We need a tech regulation reset. https://x.com/...
2025-07-01 View on X
Associated Press

Canada rescinds the Digital Services Tax targeting US companies, set to go into effect on June 30, “in anticipation of” a US trade deal, as trade talks resume

It's using trade to forcing governments into policies that would never pass their national legislatures. Julie S. Lalonde / @julieslalonde : The fact that we had to spend the last ...

2025-06-28
Unsurprising response to moving ahead with the digital services tax in Canada. Always carried significant retaliatory risk.
2025-06-28 View on X
CNBC

Trump says the US is “terminating all discussions on trade with Canada” in response to Canada's decision to impose a digital services tax on US tech firms

Talks Are Over Emma Roth / The Verge : Trump halts trade negotiations with Canada over tax on Big Tech. Tom Howell Jr / Washington Times : Trump cancels trade talks with Canada ove...

2025-02-27
Last month, President Trump issued an order on tax rules that “disproportionately affect American companies”. Google is the only company to pay Canadian media outlets under Bill C-18. Today, CRTC ruled Google must also compensate it to administer the law. https://crtc.gc.ca/...
2025-02-27 View on X
Wall Street Journal

Canada's broadcast regulator says that Google will be charged a fee to recover regulatory costs related to Canada's online news law, starting April 1

Paul Vieira / Wall Street Journal :

2025-01-07
In past 24 hours, Canada's online harms bill dies and Meta ends third party fact checking as company says it censored too much content. Huge changes to Internet content landscape. For Canada, Meta not backing down on blocking news links and U.S. could join fight on C-11 rules.
2025-01-07 View on X
NBC News

Zuckerberg says Meta will restore “free expression” on its platforms, including by replacing its fact-checking program with Community Notes, starting in the US

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the move in a post Tuesday morning.  —  Meta is scrapping its fact-checking program …

Meta with a huge political shift on content moderation.  Describes own platforms as having engaged in too much censorship, moves content moderation from California to Texas, work with Trump to focus on global expression rights.  Has implications for Canada's C-11 and C-18.  —  about.fb.com/news/2025/01...
2025-01-07 View on X
NBC News

Zuckerberg says Meta will restore “free expression” on its platforms, including by replacing its fact-checking program with Community Notes, starting in the US

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the move in a post Tuesday morning.  —  Meta is scrapping its fact-checking program …

2024-11-30
Canada's Competition Bureau is going after Google: suing for anti-competitive conduct and wants to break up its ad-tech business. https://www.canada.ca/... [image]
2024-11-30 View on X
Reuters

Canada's Competition Bureau sues Google over alleged anti-competitive conduct in online advertising, seeking Google to sell two of its ad tech tools and more

Ismail Shakil / Reuters :

2024-11-29
Canada's Competition Bureau is going after Google: suing for anti-competitive conduct and wants to break up its ad-tech business. https://www.canada.ca/... [image]
2024-11-29 View on X
Reuters

Canada's Competition Bureau sues Google over alleged anti-competitive conduct in online advertising, seeking Google to sell two of its ad tech tools and more

Canada's Competition Bureau is suing Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google over alleged anti-competitive conduct in online advertising, the antitrust watchdog said on Thursday.

2024-11-07
After years of demanding cultural payments from Internet platforms, the government is now kicking TikTok the company out of the country, but leaving the app in place? How does that benefit creators or better protect Canadians' privacy and security? https://x.com/...
2024-11-07 View on X
Reuters

Canada orders TikTok's business in the country to be dissolved, citing national security, but says it is not blocking Canadians' access; TikTok plans to appeal

Canada on Wednesday ordered Chinese-owned TikTok's business in the country to be dissolved, citing national-security risks …

2024-10-29
Fine print of CRTC's Online News Act Google exemption: 1. Calculation of employees excludes freelancers 2. CRTC approves CJC's 2% admin fee and declines to intervene in governance structure 3. Google still subject to transparency and undue pref provisions https://crtc.gc.ca/... [image]
2024-10-29 View on X
CTV News

Canada's media regulator grants Google a five-year Online News Act exemption and orders it to pay CA$100M to the Canadian Journalism Collective within 60 days

Google will pay this year's contribution to the Canadian Journalism Collective within the next 60 days. Michael Geist / @mgeist : Fine print of CRTC's Online News Act Google exempt...

No surprise: the CRTC approves Google's $100M annual payout under the Online News Act. Five year exemption granted with money going within 60 days to the new Canadian Journalism Collective for distribution. https://www.canada.ca/... [image]
2024-10-29 View on X
CTV News

Canada's media regulator grants Google a five-year Online News Act exemption and orders it to pay CA$100M to the Canadian Journalism Collective within 60 days

Google will pay this year's contribution to the Canadian Journalism Collective within the next 60 days. Michael Geist / @mgeist : Fine print of CRTC's Online News Act Google exempt...

2024-04-08
Sunday government release on support for AI that includes $5.1M for enforcing AIDA, the AI portion of Bill C-27. Bill hasn't even cleared committee yet and the OPC alone estimated it would add $25M in costs. Not a serious estimate for a new commissioner. https://www.pm.gc.ca/...
2024-04-08 View on X
Bloomberg

Canada unveils a CA$2.4B fund to boost its AI sector by giving access to computing capabilities and technical infrastructure and creates its AI Safety Institute

- The centerpiece is money for ‘technological infrastructure’  — Canada has yet to pass law regulating artificial intelligence

2024-03-29
Feels like a Canadian class action copycat lawsuit given that hundreds of school boards in the U.S. have filed similar suits. None successful so far. https://www.edweek.org/... https://x.com/...
2024-03-29 View on X
Reuters

In a lawsuit, four Canadian school boards seek damages of CA$4B+ from Meta, Snap, and TikTok for allegedly causing learning and mental health crises in students

Four Canadian school boards have sought more than C$4 billion ($2.96 billion) in damages from social media firms such as Meta Platforms …

2024-03-02
Throughout the Bill C-18 debate, supporters pointed Australia, claiming Meta was bluffing about removing news links. When asked, I noted different times, different priorities, different law and warned that Meta was unlikely to renew its deals in Australia. https://x.com/...
2024-03-02 View on X
Bloomberg

Meta plans to deprecate the Facebook News tab in the US and Australia in early April 2024 and stop signing deals for traditional news content in those countries

it was begun for hookups, parties, and puppies but readers and publishers added news in their own posts.  News came to depend on Facebook for links and audience — that's why publis...

2024-02-27
My First Take on the Online Harms Act: Worst of 2021 Plan Now Gone But Digital Safety Commission Regulatory Power a Huge Concern https://www.michaelgeist.ca/ ... [image]
2024-02-27 View on X
Bloomberg

Canada introduces the Online Harms Act, which aims to hold platforms responsible for reducing exposure to damaging content and create a digital safety regulator

RECOMMENDATION Her Excellency the Governor General recommends to the House … Darren Major / CBC News : Long-awaited online harms bill proposes new regulatory bodies, Criminal Code ...

Some were expecting the worst with Bill C-63 given government's poor track record on Internet regulation. But with bill not driven by lobbyists or a motivated by an “evil tech” narrative, my first quick read of the government's materials (not bill itself) is pretty positive. 1/10
2024-02-27 View on X
Bloomberg

Canada introduces the Online Harms Act, which aims to hold platforms responsible for reducing exposure to damaging content and create a digital safety regulator

RECOMMENDATION Her Excellency the Governor General recommends to the House … Darren Major / CBC News : Long-awaited online harms bill proposes new regulatory bodies, Criminal Code ...

What's not in government materials that really matters in Bill C-63? Huge power for Digital Safety Commission: levy penalties up to 6% of global revenues, inspection powers, potential to conduct secret hearings under some circumstances, establish regs and codes of conduct.
2024-02-27 View on X
Bloomberg

Canada introduces the Online Harms Act, which aims to hold platforms responsible for reducing exposure to damaging content and create a digital safety regulator

RECOMMENDATION Her Excellency the Governor General recommends to the House … Darren Major / CBC News : Long-awaited online harms bill proposes new regulatory bodies, Criminal Code ...

2023-11-30
On Google and Bill C-18: was clear for months that government and industry desperately needed to salvage something from Bill C-18. No deal would have been bad for everyone. The $129M bailout cushions Meta blow and this deal suggests government traded tough talk for compromise.
2023-11-30 View on X
CBC News

Google and Canada reach an agreement in their dispute over the country's Online News Act; Google plans to pay news companies around CA$100M, or ~$74M, per year

Agreement comes 3 weeks before Online News Act rules come into force  —  Google and the federal government have reached …

Supporters of Bill C-18 acknowledging the obvious: deal falls far short of what government promised. In fact, it's particularly bad for independent media since once broadcasters and large print publications get paid, unlikely to be significant money left. https://x.com/...
2023-11-30 View on X
CBC News

Google and Canada reach an agreement in their dispute over the country's Online News Act; Google plans to pay news companies around CA$100M, or ~$74M, per year

Agreement comes 3 weeks before Online News Act rules come into force  —  Google and the federal government have reached …

Reports seem to indicate the Bill C-18 deal with Google is for $100M with a payment to a single collective. Essentially functioning like a fund. In other words, roughly what Google said it would do *a year ago*. Subtract the Meta loss and this could not have been handled worse.
2023-11-30 View on X
CBC News

Google and Canada reach an agreement in their dispute over the country's Online News Act; Google plans to pay news companies around CA$100M, or ~$74M, per year

Agreement comes 3 weeks before Online News Act rules come into force  —  Google and the federal government have reached …

My initial thoughts on Google deal. Good news there is an agreement, but hardly a big win with less than $100M in new money in a deal available a year ago, harm from Meta's news exit and government upending Bill C-18's core principles to salvage the bill. https://x.com/...
2023-11-30 View on X
CBC News

Google and Canada reach an agreement in their dispute over the country's Online News Act; Google plans to pay news companies around CA$100M, or ~$74M, per year

Agreement comes 3 weeks before Online News Act rules come into force  —  Google and the federal government have reached …