Michael GeistOpinion

The Lawful Access Two-Headed Surveillance Monster: How Bill C-22 Went Off the Rails

The government’s plans for lawful access have gone off the rails. In recent days, Signal has warned it would pull out of the ...
Michael Geist

Bill C-22’s Groundhog Day: Why the Government’s Dismissal of Signal, Apple and the U.S. Congress Concerns Runs Back the Disastrous Online News Act Playbook

Secure messaging service Signal yesterday became the latest company to warn that Bill C-22, the lawful access bill, could ...
Michael GeistOpinion

How Much Further Will Lawful Access Go?: Police Chief Tells Bill C-22 Hearing That Three Years of Metadata Retention Would Be “Ideal”

Metadata retention has emerged as one of the biggest lawful access concerns, with requirements that providers retain metadata ...
Michael GeistOpinion

Slick Videos Won’t Save Lawful Access: Why The Government’s Bill C-22 Defence Avoids the Charter, Privacy and Security Concerns Raised By Critics

With opposition to Bill C-22, the lawful access bill, mounting, Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree has turned to ...
Michael GeistOpinion

Government Has a Choice: Why an AI Chatbot Ban for Kids is an Even Worse Idea Than a Social Media Ban

The frenzy to ban kids from social media continues to grow with Culture Minister Marc Miller telling a House of Commons ...
Michael Geist

Make It Make Sense: My Appearance Before the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security on Bill C-22’s Lawful Access Plan

Fresh off appearing before a Senate committee on AI on Wednesday, yesterday I provided expert testimony to the Standing ...
Michael GeistOpinion

Why Social Media and AI Chatbot Bans for Kids Are Bad Policy: Making the Case at the Senate Social Affairs, Science and Tech Committee

The Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology is one of several committees in the House and Senate ...
Michael Geist

U.S. Congressional Leaders Warn Canadian Lawful Access Plans Harm U.S. National Security and Economic Interests

Just as Bill C-22, the Lawful Access Act, is under study at the House Standing Committee on Public Safety and National ...
Michael GeistOpinion

The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 268: Sara Grimes on the Moral Panic Behind Banning Kids from Social Media and AI Chatbots

The question of children’s social media and AI chatbot ban has emerged as one of the most talked-about digital policy issues ...
Michael GeistOpinion

Wilful Blindness?: How the Lawful Access Charter Statement Skips Bill C-22’s Most Constitutionally Vulnerable Provisions

The committee hearings on Bill C-22, the lawful access bill, kick off later today with an appearance by Justice Minister Sean ...
Michael Geist

The Government Doubles Down on News Sector Support: Fiscal Update Opens the Door to Tens of Millions in Tax Credits for Bell, Rogers and Corus

The government is doubling down on its support for the Canadian news sector by proposing to massively expand the Labour Journalism Tax Credit to include television and radio news. The announcement in ...
Michael Geist

AI Without Canada: Why the Heritage Committee’s AI Report Could Lead to Less Canadian Content in the Training Data

When I appeared before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage last fall for its study on AI and the creative industries, I emphasized that the large language models and generative AI systems that ...