The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 226: Richard Gold on Why Canada Should Target U.S. Patents To Help Counter Tariff Trade Pressure
Michael Geist
by Michael Geist
3d ago
The trade battle between Canada and the U.S. took a brief break last week as hours before the Trump tariffs were scheduled to take effect, President Trump agreed to a 30 day delay in return for various border measures. That brought a sigh of relief but no real sense that the issue is over. Indeed, quite the opposite – as future battles over tariffs and other measures appear very likely. Professor Richard Gold of McGill University’s Faculty of Law specializes in intellectual property. On last week’s Law Bytes episode, I referenced his proposal to consider suspending patents in key sectors such ..read more
Visit website
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 225: How Canada Can Leverage Digital Policy to Retaliate Against Trump’s Tariffs
Michael Geist
by Michael Geist
1w ago
Canada now finds itself in economic war with the United States as President Donald Trump has levied a 25% tariff on all Canadian goods (10% for energy), which are scheduled to start on Tuesday. In response, Canada will levy retaliatory tariffs valued at $155 billion with $30 billion coming this week and another $125 billion in several weeks time. It is seemingly impossible to make sense of this deliberate targeting of an ally and claims this is linked to fentanyl that crosses the Canadian border into the U.S. doesn’t add up. Should this escalate further, the prospect of additional measures see ..read more
Visit website
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 224: Why Prorogation and Donald Trump Spell the End of an Era in Canadian Digital Policy
Michael Geist
by Michael Geist
2w ago
A lot has happened over the past six weeks since the last Law Bytes episode that provided a  year-end review. TikTok briefly went offline in the US,  Meta changed its content moderation policies in a major shift designed to curry favour with Donald Trump, Amazon announced it is laying off all of its Quebec-based employees, and Bell obtained an expansive court blocking order covering copycat sites to name just a few developments. Future episodes will dive into these issues but for the moment, the biggest story for podcast devoted to digital policy from a Canadian perspective is govern ..read more
Visit website
Why Years of Canadian Digital Policy Is Either Dead (Prorogation) or Likely to Die (Trump)
Michael Geist
by Michael Geist
3w ago
The Canadian political and business communities are unsurprisingly focused on the prospect of U.S. President Donald Trump instituting 25% tariffs on Canadian goods and services. The threat of tariffs, which could spark a retaliatory response by Canada and fuel a damaging trade war, would likely cause serious harm to the Canadian economy. But tariffs aren’t the only story arising from new Trump actions in his first day in office. Amidst the many executive orders signed on day one are several with significant implications for Canadian law, particularly Canadian digital policies such as the digit ..read more
Visit website
New Era and New Risks: Meta’s Content Moderation Reforms and Freedom of Expression Online
Michael Geist
by Michael Geist
1M ago
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg yesterday announced significant new changes to the company’s content moderation policies. The five-minute video is worth watching in its entirety, as it demonstrates the shifting political sands that seemingly pressured even the world’s largest social media company to pay heed. Zuckerberg said the company’s reliance on third-party fact checkers had resulted in too much censorship and vowed to return to an emphasis on freedom of expression. That means the fact checkers are gone, replaced by the Twitter (X) model of community notes. Moreover, the company is moving its co ..read more
Visit website
The Year of Disbelief: The Relentless Rise of Antisemitism in Canada
Michael Geist
by Michael Geist
1M ago
I’ve posted several year-in-reviews of Canadian digital policy (blogs, podcasts, Substacks), but the most important story this year for me and the Jewish community was the relentless rise of antisemitism in Canada. Over the course of the year, I appeared before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage to emphasize the chilling effect of antisemitism, wrote op-eds in the Globe and Mail (2), National Post, and the Hub, and posted countless pieces on antisemitism in our streets and campuses. There were posts on the need for academic institutions to adhere to the principle of institutional neut ..read more
Visit website
The Year in Review: Top Ten Michael Geist Substacks
Michael Geist
by Michael Geist
1M ago
My look back at 2024 concludes with a review of my most popular Substacks of the year. Unlike last year, where was considerable overlap between my most popular blog posts and Substacks, this year the list quite different. The Substack list features a significant emphasis on antisemitism in Canada in the wake of the October 2023 terror attacks, which occupy the top three posts and five of the top ten. The post The Year in Review: Top Ten Michael Geist Substacks appeared first on Michael Geist ..read more
Visit website
The Year in Review: Top Ten Law Bytes Podcast Episodes
Michael Geist
by Michael Geist
1M ago
The final Law Bytes podcast of 2024 released last week took a look back at the year in digital policy. With the podcast on a holiday break, this post looks back at the ten most popular episodes of the year. Topping the charts this year was a debate with Senator Julie Miville-Dechêne, who graciously agreed to come on the podcast to defend her Bill S-210. The Online Harms Act captured three of the top ten spots with additional focus on AI regulation, copyright, privacy, and media regulation. The post The Year in Review: Top Ten Law Bytes Podcast Episodes appeared first on Michael Geist ..read more
Visit website
The Year in Review: Top Ten Posts
Michael Geist
by Michael Geist
1M ago
Last week’s Law Bytes podcast featured a look at the year in review in digital law and policy. Before wrapping up for the year, the next three posts over the holidays will highlight the most popular posts, podcast episodes, and Substacks of the past year. Today’s post starts with the top posts, which starts with a major copyright ruling involving fair dealing and digital locks. The remaining posts include four posts on the Online Harms Act and two on Bill S-210, alongside posts on the implementation of Bills C-11, C-18, and the recent decision to ban TikTok from operating in Canada. The post T ..read more
Visit website
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 223: Looking Back at the Year in Canadian Digital Law and Policy
Michael Geist
by Michael Geist
2M ago
Canadian digital law and policy in 2024 featured the long-delayed online harms bill, controversial implementation of streaming and online news legislation, as well as a myriad of notable copyright, AI, and privacy court cases. Government legislation stalled in the House of Commons, but with trade battles over a digital services tax, a competition case against Google, and plans to kick TikTok out of the country, there were no shortage of high profile issues. For this final Law Bytes podcast of 2024, I go solo without a guest to talk about the most significant developments in Canadian ..read more
Visit website

Follow Michael Geist on FeedSpot

Continue with Google
Continue with Apple
OR