I’ve posted several year-in-reviews of Canadian digital policy (blogs, podcasts, Substacks), but the most important story this year for me and the Jewish community was the relentless rise of antisemitism in Canada. Over the course of the year, I appeared before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage to emphasize the chilling effect of antisemitism, wrote op-eds in the Globe and Mail (2), National Post, and the Hub, and posted countless pieces on antisemitism in our streets and campuses. There were posts on the need for academic institutions to adhere to the principle of institutional neutrality, support for the government’s guide on the IHRA definition of antisemitism, social media challenges, and even a podcast on Wikipedia’s antisemitism problem. Canada is not alone in dealing with a dramatic rise in antisemitism, but when the attacks hit your synagogue, school, or community centre and it is your leaders that fail to respond, it hits close to home.
Archive for December, 2024
The Year in Review: Top Ten Michael Geist Substacks
My look back at 2024 concludes with a review of my most popular Substacks of the year. Unlike last year, where was considerable overlap between my most popular blog posts and Substacks, this year the list quite different. The Substack list features a significant emphasis on antisemitism in Canada in the wake of the October 2023 terror attacks, which occupy the top three posts and five of the top ten.
The Year in Review: Top Ten Law Bytes Podcast Episodes
The final Law Bytes podcast of 2024 released last week took a look back at the year in digital policy. With the podcast on a holiday break, this post looks back at the ten most popular episodes of the year. Topping the charts this year was a debate with Senator Julie Miville-Dechêne, who graciously agreed to come on the podcast to defend her Bill S-210. The Online Harms Act captured three of the top ten spots with additional focus on AI regulation, copyright, privacy, and media regulation.
The Year in Review: Top Ten Posts
Last week’s Law Bytes podcast featured a look at the year in review in digital law and policy. Before wrapping up for the year, the next three posts over the holidays will highlight the most popular posts, podcast episodes, and Substacks of the past year. Today’s post starts with the top posts, which starts with a major copyright ruling involving fair dealing and digital locks. The remaining posts include four posts on the Online Harms Act and two on Bill S-210, alongside posts on the implementation of Bills C-11, C-18, and the recent decision to ban TikTok from operating in Canada.
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 223: Looking Back at the Year in Canadian Digital Law and Policy
Canadian digital law and policy in 2024 featured the long-delayed online harms bill, controversial implementation of streaming and online news legislation, as well as a myriad of notable copyright, AI, and privacy court cases. Government legislation stalled in the House of Commons, but with trade battles over a digital services tax, a competition case against Google, and plans to kick TikTok out of the country, there were no shortage of high profile issues. For this final Law Bytes podcast of 2024, I go solo without a guest to talk about the most significant developments in Canadian digital policy from the past year.
