Democratic Institutions Minister Karina Gould told the Star and BuzzFeed News that “all options are on the table” when it comes to applying domestic rules to international social media giants like Facebook, Google, Amazon and Twitter.
We recognize that self-regulation is not yielding the results that societies are expecting these companies to deliver,” Gould said in an interview Monday.
“We are actively talking to partners around the world, we’re actively talking to experts here in Canada as well in terms of what can be done. And I remain open to many different options as to how we can ensure better behaviour.”
The Star and BuzzFeed News are investigating how political parties, pressure groups, and foreign actors are influencing Canada’s political debate in the lead up to the next federal election, including the role social media companies play in disseminating information and misinformation.
Gould’s comments come as like-minded countries pledged to crack down on social media companies.
Australia passed a stringent law that demands social media companies quickly remove violent content from their platforms in light on the Christchurch massacre in New Zealand. Under the new law, social media executives could receive a prison sentence or their companies face hefty fines if the content is not taken down “expeditiously.”
full story at https://www.thestar.com/politics/federal/2019/04/08/canadian-government-says-its-considering-regulating-facebook-and-other-social-media-giants.html