Decentralized social media platforms (such as Mastodon, Bluesky) offer community-governed, interoperable alternatives to centralized social media. But these decentralized approaches are not reflected in current and emerging platform regulations in Canada; current and forthcoming rules could overburden the volunteer-run communities upon which decentralized platforms rely, discourage experimentation and push users back to dominant, foreign-owned platforms, undermining Canada’s digital sovereignty goals.
Instead, regulators should adopt participatory, interoperability-based frameworks that protect users of decentralized social media platforms, while supporting community-run platforms and long-term investment in Canadian digital infrastructure. To support this, Alexander Martin provides actionable steps for approaching the modern governance of these disruptive platforms.
