OPINION
The Prime Minister of Canada and his Liberal government want to interfere with the way Canadians communicate, specifically on social media, as part of their all-out siege on the free internet. Trudeau’s Heritage Minister, Pablo Rodriguez, recently proposed legislation that will force Google and Facebook to share revenues with news publishers, including broadcasters.
Trudeau is once again moving to control the internet, and will now try to force social media companies to split their profits with news agencies. While this move may impress corporate executives that will be more-than-happy to get a boost to their bottom line, the legislation does little to protect small publishers, and highlights the lengths Trudeau and his government will go to mold the internet, and social media, to their far-left vision.
Of course, forcing big tech companies to split profits evenly with news agencies doesn’t sound like a bad idea. But, this may be little more than a Trojan horse, meant to be the first step in total control over Canada’s cyberspace. Earlier in 2021, Trudeau’s government tried to pass a “censorship” bill. Billc-10 would have allowed the CRTC to effectively police the internet. According to MP Pierre Poilievre, the proposed bill could be used as a “hammer” to intimidate freedom of expression. Fortunately, the bill did not pass in Parliament.
There is speculation Trudeau may try to pass Billc-10 again now that he won his snap election called in late 2021. Canadians have the right to be concerned with Trudeau’s subtle moves towards authoritarianism. A free internet is best for everyone, Canadians can’t sit idly as Trudeau slowly tries to take that away.
UPDATE: A few parts of this article were rephrased on Mar. 16, 2022. Read more about our editorial standards.
