In early June 2026, Canada's Minister of Identity and Culture, Marc Miller, unexpectedly announced that the government would direct the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to review its two-week-old decision imposing hundreds of millions in new investment requirements on internet streaming services. This move marked a major reversal of a core digital policy years in the making, surprising the cultural sector and setting off a whirlwind of regulatory changes.
Two Weeks of Rapid Policy Changes
Over the following two weeks, the government unveiled its artificial intelligence strategy, introduced a social media ban for anyone under 16, created a new superregulator for social media and AI chatbots, advanced a privacy reform bill removing the Privacy Commissioner from regulating private-sector privacy, and rushed through lawful access legislation that led leading tech companies to consider leaving Canada. Digital policy experts struggled to make sense of the dizzying pace and apparent disarray.
According to Michael Geist, Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law at the University of Ottawa, this period is best understood as digital strategy 3.0 for the Liberal government, following earlier phases of embrace and then aggressive regulation.
From Version 1.0 to Version 3.0
Version 1.0, under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, was a warm embrace of technology with minimal regulation. The government supported initiatives like Google's smart-city plan for Toronto's waterfront and secured a $500-million Netflix investment. Version 2.0 shifted to a "make web giants pay" approach, passing the Online Streaming Act, Online News Act, and the failed Online Harms Act, along with expanded taxation. However, this approach faltered: news links were blocked on Facebook and Instagram for years, the streaming act became bogged down in courts and hearings, and the Online Harms Act died.
Version 3.0 began a year ago with the decision to drop the digital services tax under U.S. trade pressure. The recent streaming reversal effectively ends Version 2.0, with the government directing the CRTC on how to interpret its own law. The AI strategy arrived months late, focusing on adoption programs and new rules to foster trust. Bill C-34, the Safe Social Media Act, creates a duty for social media and AI companies to act responsibly, but this is overshadowed by a social media ban, uncertainty over 50 issues left to Cabinet or a new Digital Safety Commission, and years needed to implement the regulatory framework.
Contradictions and Governance Issues
Bill C-36, a privacy reform bill, modernizes provisions but sidelines the Privacy Commissioner and will take even longer to implement. Lawful access legislation was pushed through by cutting off committee debate, despite privacy and security risks sparking widespread alarm. Geist notes contradictions: the government declares privacy a fundamental right while passing rules like mandated metadata retention, which pose major privacy threats. Similarly, it insists on a privacy review of age verification for the social media ban in Bill C-34, only to repeal the safeguard in Bill C-36 five days later.
Miller has rejected claims that Ottawa has sold out Canadian culture, but the underlying theme appears to be a governance problem. The government blames outdated privacy regulations and a slow-moving regulator for delays, yet its solutions—centralized power and a new superregulator—may take years to become operational. To sell these policies, the government frames them as protecting children, using consistent messaging around breaking encryption, banning social media for under-16, and unique privacy rules for children's data.
Criticism and Potential Consequences
Geist argues that bans and backdoor access have not worked elsewhere and could cause weakened security, privacy risks from age verification for millions, reputational damage to Canadian privacy, and potential exodus of leading tech companies. If these come to pass, Canadian kids will ultimately pay the price for the digital policy missteps of two weeks in June.
