It started with an unexpected early-morning announcement on June 3, 2026, from Marc Miller, the Minister of Identity and Culture. Mr. Miller said that the government planned to direct the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), Canada’s broadcast regulator, to review its two-week-old decision that imposed hundreds of millions in new investment requirements on internet streaming services. My Globe and Mail essay that appeared over the weekend notes that the move came as a surprise, not only because he had chastised the commission a month earlier for moving too slowly, but also because it marked a major reversal of a core Canadian digital policy that had been years in the making. The decision sent shock waves through the cultural sector, but it was only the start.
Post Tagged with: "digital policy"
Canadian TikTok Ban Called Off as the Government Hits the Digital Policy Reset Button Once Again
The Carney government’s steady reset of Canadian digital policy continues as it has now backed off plans to ban TikTok from operating in Canada. The government’s approach, first announced in November 2024, never made any sense since the TikTok app remained available without restriction and the corporate ban weakened privacy enforcement and resulted in millions in lost cultural support. The policy was a true lose-lose-lose and seemed premised on piggybacking on U.S. legislation to ban the app. The change in U.S. administration effectively nixed those plans, leaving Canadians with the worst of both worlds: a corporate ban that created real harms with no discernible benefit and a Canadian TikTok app that would ultimately offer fewer safeguards than the U.S. equivalent.
The reset on the TikTok ban came through what amounts to a settlement between the government and TikTok that was made official yesterday by the federal court.
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 250: Wikimedia’s Jan Gerlach on the Risks and Challenges with Digital Policy Reform
I’m not quite sure how this happened, but somehow this is the 250th episode of the Law Bytes podcast. To mark this milestone, I’m joined by Jan Gerlach, Wikimedia’s Director of Public Policy, who leads its EU advocacy work, including efforts on UK Online Safety Act. This is particularly relevant in a Canadian context since this work has touched on issues such as user identification, platform regulation, and rules surrounding AI. Our podcast conversation features a wide ranging discussion on these issues, providing insight into some of the risks and challenges associated with digital policy reform.
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 243: What Are Canada’s Digital Policy Plans as Parliament Returns from the Summer Break?
The return of the Law Bytes podcast series this week coincides with the return of Parliament from its summer break. Digital policy may not be at the very top of the legislative agenda, but there are no shortage of issues that could attract attention. This includes lawful access legislation introduced last June, the prospect of online harms safeguards, and ongoing concerns regarding privacy and artificial intelligence regulation. This week’s episode looks ahead to the coming Parliamentary session.
Carney’s Digital Recalibration: How the Government is Trending Away from Justin Trudeau’s Digital Policy
Digital policies did not play a prominent role in the last election given the intense focus on the Canada-U.S. relationship. Prime Minister Mark Carney started as a bit of a blank slate on the issue, but over the past few months a trend has emerged as he distances himself from the Justin Trudeau approach with important shifts on telecom, taxation, and the regulation of artificial intelligence. Further, recent hints of an openness to re-considering the Online News Act and heightened pressure from the U.S. on the Online Streaming Act suggests that a full overhaul may be a possibility.
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