A lot has happened over the past six weeks since the last Law Bytes episode that provided a year-end review. TikTok briefly went offline in the U.S., Meta changed its content moderation policies in a major shift designed to curry favour with Donald Trump, Amazon announced it is laying off all of its Quebec-based employees, and Bell obtained an expansive court blocking order covering copycat sites to name just a few developments. Future episodes will dive into these issues but for the moment, the biggest story for a podcast devoted to digital policy from a Canadian perspective is government’s decision on January 6th to prorogue Parliament and the inauguration of Donald Trump two weeks later on January 20th. Those two events effectively mark the end of the past five years of Canadian digital policy: the bills are dead due to prorogation and many of the laws seem likely to die due to Donald Trump. This week’s Law Bytes podcast takes a closer look at what just happened and will consider what lies ahead in next week’s episode.
The podcast can be downloaded here, accessed on YouTube, and is embedded below. Subscribe to the podcast via Apple Podcast, Google Play, Spotify or the RSS feed. Updates on the podcast on Twitter at @Lawbytespod.
Credits:
City News, Justin Trudeau’s Resignation as Prime Minister, January 6, 2025
Detroit Free Press, Trump Suggests Canada Should be the 51st State During Hurricane Helene Briefing
It’s fascinating to see how the political landscape, both in Canada and the U.S., is shaping the future of digital policy. The recent events, especially the prorogation of Parliament and the changes in the U.S., are definitely significant. For those navigating complex health-related transitions, such as stopping HRT, it’s also important to stay informed. A great resource I came across is this detailed article on the topic: https://ways2well.com/blog/will-i-lose-weight-if-i-stop-hrt-deep-overview-with-ways2well. It provides a comprehensive look at the potential effects of stopping HRT, which could be a valuable guide for anyone considering this change. Based on my own experience, it’s definitely worth checking out.
Wow, so much has happened in just six weeks! The TikTok outage, Meta’s policy shift, Amazon’s layoffs in Quebec, and Bell’s site-blocking order are all major developments on their own, but the prorogation of Parliament and Trump’s upcoming inauguration really shift the landscape for Canadian digital policy. It’s wild to think that years of legislative work could just be wiped out like that. Looking forward to the next Law Bytes episode to get a deeper dive into what this all means moving forward!
The TikTok outage, Meta’s policy move, Amazon’s Quebec layoffs, and Bell’s site-blocking order are all big events, but Parliament’s prorogation and Trump’s inauguration actually change Canadian digital policy. I can’t believe years of legislative work might be erased.