Tech Policy

News and hard-hitting, insightful, thoughtful, provocative and progressive analysis of tech policy issues in Canada and around the world.

PayPal and Venmo enforcement procedures threaten First Amendment protected speech

With over 360 million users, PayPal and Venmo "have a staggering amount of influence over the financial lives of these individuals as well as access to an enormous trove of highly sensitive information that should not flow to the government without adequate safeguards."

Guest Blog
June 17, 2021

A terrible social media week for Donald Trump as Facebook extends suspension to two years

First, Trump voluntarily nuked “From the Desk of Donald J. Trump,” his own blog, created only at the beginning of May. Then on Friday, Facebook announced that the former U.S. president's suspension from Facebook and Instagram, initially announced in the wake of the deadly Jan 6. U.S. Capitol insurrection, would be extended to two years.

Obert Madondo
June 5, 2021

Google Blocks Advertisers from Targeting Black Lives Matter YouTube Videos

“Black power” and “Black Lives Matter” can't be used to find videos for ads, but “White power” and “White lives matter” were just fine.

Guest Blog
April 24, 2021

Official Information About COVID-19 Is Reaching Fewer Black People on Facebook

According to data from The Markup’s Citizen Browser project, there are major disparities in who is shown public health information about the pandemic.

Guest Blog
March 28, 2021

Government surveillance erodes “our dignity and the things that make us human,” says Edward Snowden

National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden urges us to continue defending our digital rights in the face of burgeoning digital authoritarianism at home and beyond, because mass government surveillance "robs us of private space, eroding our dignity and the things that make us human."

Obert Madondo
December 31, 2020

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg urged to comply with GDPR in all countries by 70 consumer groups

A coalition of consumer and privacy groups from the US, Canada and the European Union is urging Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to ensure that his company adopts the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) "as a baseline standard" for all Facebook users around the world.

Obert Madondo
April 9, 2018