Michael Geist Weekly Digest #28: Sovereignty risks behind Canada’s EU digital pivot, Bill C-34's missing Charter statement, and three years after October 7th
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I believe Bill C-34’s social media ban is unconstitutional. It blocks an entire cohort of Canadians from expressing themselves on social media and requires millions to verify their age to access lawful content. Yet four months later, still no Charter statement.
www.michaelgeist.ca/2026/10/the-...

Must read from @kate-ro.bsky.social on Bill C-22:
"The assumption by government officials that technology companies can find “safe ways” to weaken critical cybersecurity protections badly misreads the current threat landscape."
www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...

Bill C-34's social media ban for under-16s blocks an entire cohort of Canadians from expressing themselves on social media and requires millions to age-verify to access lawful content. Four months later, the government hasn't issued a Charter statement.
www.michaelgeist.ca/2026/10/the-...

Mozilla: “Let us be clear: there is no safe way to create exceptional access to encrypted data that only the intended actor can use. An access mechanism created for law enforcement can also be discovered, exploited or abused by potentially bad actors.”
blog.mozilla.org/netpolicy/20...

Big win for B'nai Brith Canada and the entire community with the release of the unredacted Rodal report on Nazi war criminals suspected of having entered Canada after WWII.
bnaibrith.ca/federal-gove...

More than a dozen shootings and firebombings of Canadian synagogues and Jewish schools since October 7th. A Yom Kippur attack in Belleville. My reflections on why many Jews no longer trust that when attacked, friends and institutions will stand with them.
www.michaelgeist.ca/2026/10/thre...

As a law professor, I have watched some universities disregard Jewish student and faculty fears since October 7th, failing to enforce codes or act on their own reviews. 70% of Jewish students surveyed say their university does not take antisemitism seriously.
www.michaelgeist.ca/2026/10/thre...

Three years after October 7th, the initial shock has become a relentless series of shockwaves. Israelis and diaspora Jews have since shared many of the same experiences, dominated by denial, repeated antisemitic violence, and a deep sense of betrayal.
www.michaelgeist.ca/2026/10/thre...

Canada's plan to seek "associated country status" under the EU's proposed Cloud and AI Development Act would leave its privacy law, lawful access powers and cloud procurement subject to EU approval. Similar demands from the U.S. would cause outrage.
www.michaelgeist.ca/2026/10/what...

The Bill C-22 effect: "Toronto-based Psiphon, which has millions of users worldwide including in Iran, Russia and China, told The Globe and Mail on Friday it has started drawing up plans to move its operations out of Canada."
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Imagine a U.S. deal requiring Canada to keep its cloud market open, limit Buy Canadian for sovereign cloud, and meet a U.S. privacy standard, with the U.S. able to revoke it if Canada fell short. Those terms are on the table, but from the EU, not the U.S.
www.michaelgeist.ca/2026/10/what...

Michael Geist Weekly Digest #27: Bill C-22 and the encryption question facing the Senate, the digital trade law buried in Bill C-39, Ontario's new directive on campus antisemitism, and the CBC and the Yom Kippur protest.
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After mezuzahs were smashed at Laurier, dozens of students who had never displayed one asked for one. Test of Ontario's new campus antisemitism directive is whether universities will protect their right to keep them on their doors. My open version of Hub op-ed.
www.michaelgeist.ca/2026/10/onta...

For months, the government insisted Bill C-22 was "encryption neutral" and dismissed warnings from tech companies as misinformation. The Minister now says the bill has a "minor opening" on encryption in "extenuating circumstances." Is there such a thing?
www.michaelgeist.ca/2026/09/is-c...

The government's encryption compromise in Bill C-22 doesn't work. Police say it does little to change what they can already obtain. Tech companies, industry groups, and security experts say it still leaves users at risk. The Senate needs to pick a side.
www.michaelgeist.ca/2026/09/is-c...

The legal policy is clear: intimidation, obstruction or disturbing those attending religious services is prohibited regardless of whether one objects to what is said or who is saying it. That's the question for the CBC, not whether a journalist reported it.
www.michaelgeist.ca/2026/09/the-...

CBC journalist Neil Herland was pulled from the air and sent to a disciplinary hearing over an accurate tweet thread about being taunted on his way into Yom Kippur services. Wrong target. CBC should be asking about the protesters, who may have broken the law.
www.michaelgeist.ca/2026/09/the-...

The focus on Bill C-39 has been project approvals and collective bargaining. But buried in the bill is a new statute on bringing digital technologies to shipping and supply chains, with a data-sharing power that overrides nine confidentiality laws.
www.michaelgeist.ca/2026/09/buri...