Resetting the Debate on Social Media

The dissolution of Parliament pulled the plug on an ambitious and controversial series of proposals to regulate the actions of digital media companies and their users. But this reset also offers an opportunity to consider how the next government should regulate these platforms.

In three recent opinion pieces, Blayne Haggart and Natasha Tusikov offer a road map to guide the Canadian government’s future bills regulating social media companies. As they explain in part one, regulation must begin with an understanding of these platforms’ business models and, more broadly, the assumptions underlying the digital economy.

Haggart and Tusikov continue their discussion about the policy path ahead in Canada with a look at the effects of the ideology of a free and open internet. In the digital world, few ideas have been as enduring. But, they write, in a liberal-democratic society, there’s little room for debate once you’ve pulled the censorship pin on the free-speech grenade.

In Tusikov and Haggart’s third piece discussing platform governance in Canada, the authors argue that the next federal government needs to regulate social media companies in the context of a more general focus on the broader digital economy and digital society, which themselves shouldn’t be thought of as separate from the wider economy and society.

Financial technology (fintech) for good can help to achieve sustainable development through environmental, social and governance investing and through financial inclusion initiatives to address underbanked and unbanked individuals’ needs. In this paper, Sep Pashang and Olaf Weber argue that we need better governance frameworks to minimize the risks and maximize the benefits of fintech for good.

Governments and multinational organizations are exploring developing “retail” digital currencies, either sponsored by governmental central banks or privately issued, which consumers could use as a day-to-day alternative to cash. Retail digital currencies raise new regulatory issues besides those associated with money and payment systems, as Steven L. Schwarcz explains in this latest CIGI policy brief.

Although the threat of terrorism remains a pressing concern, the threats facing Canada have grown more complex in the years since 9/11. Foreign policy, domestic innovation, national prosperity, intellectual property, data governance, cybersecurity and trade are now all inextricably linked. Adversarial states seek advantage across these areas, treating them as strategically connected. As Aaron Shull writes, Canada needs to do the same.

Dec. 7 – 9:30 a.m. EST (UTC–05:00): CIGI is pleased to host His Excellency Cong Peiwu, China’s Ambassador to Canada, for a conversation with CIGI President Rohinton P. Medhora about China’s role in the global economy. With the upcoming G20 Heads of State and Government Summit from October 30 to 31, this conversation will explore China’s role and influence in issues preoccupying governments worldwide, such as technology, trade, investment, climate change, and cyber and data governance. A Q&A period moderated by Rohinton P. Medhora will follow.

To join us online on September 30, please register here.

Oct. 14 – 1:30 p.m. EDT (UTC–04:00): As part of CIGI’s continued work on Reimagining a Canadian National Security Strategy for the Twenty-First Century, we are pleased to host Privacy Commissioner of Canada Daniel Therrien for a discussion on privacy protection in the context of today’s information revolution, the data-driven economy and known risks within the evolving threat landscape. A Q&A period moderated by CIGI Managing Director Aaron Shull will follow.

Learn more about this event and register to attend online here.