Millennial Authoritarianism in Latin America

From El Salvador to Chile, a new wave of younger politicians is rising to power and using social media with savvy. Chilean president Gabriel Boric seems on a path to tackle long-existing inequalities, but in Brazil, Honduras and El Salvador there are worrying signs of democratic decline. Marie Lamensch asks: To what extent does social media play a role in the current waning of democracy in Latin America?

Too often, the freedom to transact is deemed absolute, even where some transactions may gridlock international trade or finance human rights atrocities. We must look beyond recent events in Canada or Ukraine to recognize what’s really at stake if we fail to counter the growing libertarian obsession with crypto’s “freedom to transact,” writes Elizabeth M. Renieris.

We tend to think about freedom as an individual freedom to do what we want or freedom of choice. However, as Blayne Haggart writes, individual freedom doesn’t mean much if you aren’t in a position to enjoy this freedom. Understanding freedom as non-domination can inject some much-needed nuance into our discussions about social media governance, and governance generally.

Today, too many people in search of “news” are being fed dangerous conspiracy theories online. After everything that happened in the 2016 US elections, it is apparently still easy for foreign actors to use sock-puppet accounts to sow social discord, which can lead to violence and disruption. Stephen Maher says it’s time to consider algorithmic transparency as part of Canada’s national defence.

The invasion of Ukraine is a catastrophe for its people, a disaster for Russia and has the potential to become a global calamity. In this op-ed co-published with iPolitics, Michael Den Tandt writes that there is also a worrying possibility that as leaders grapple with this latest mortal threat to human security, they will fail to address other urgent problems that can lead to even more acute outcomes.

Mar. 24 – 8:25 a.m. EDT (UTC–04:00): This Thursday, CIGI and the Canadian Intellectual Property Office will be hosting a full-day virtual gathering to disseminate intellectual property research from leading experts to further innovation and inform policy. The day begins with a keynote address by Ruth Okediji, professor of law at Harvard University and co-director of the Berkman Klein Center.

There’s still time to register! Find out more here.

Apr. 6 and Apr. 7 – 1:00 p.m. EDT (UTC–04:00): Register now to attend this virtual conference on health data jointly hosted by University of Waterloo and CIGI. In afternoon sessions over two days, speakers will explore the intersection between health data, digital health and governance for the betterment of our society and improved public health outcomes. Featuring leading experts throughout Canada and globally, the conference aims to inform and educate, while encouraging constructive dialogue. Registration is free to all.

Read more about the program and RSVP here.

On Friday, CIGI hosted an interactive discussion with Laura DeNardis and Aaron Shull about the digital iron curtain that has descended on Russia amid its invasion of Ukraine.

A video recording of the event is now available. You can watch it here.