Tech Policy

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

Monetization, not human rights or vulnerable communities, matter most at Twitter under Musk

It’s no coincidence that Twitter "experienced a surge in racists slurs in the first few days after Musk’s $44 billion acquisition". Musk, a self-described “free speech absolutist", does not care about the human rights of vulnerable communities.

The Canadian Progressive
November 24, 2022

Boston Dynamic, five robotics companies pledge not to weaponize their robots

The weaponization of our advanced general-purpose robots “raises new risks of harm and serious ethical issues,” Boston Dynamics and five other leading robotics manufacturers say in their joint letter.

Obert Madondo
October 11, 2022

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

Obert Madondo is an Ottawa-based digital artist, blogger, photographer, graphic designer, web designer, digital rights enthusiast, digital storytelling enthusiast, aspiring filmmaker, and online publisher.

Obert is a former political aide to a prominent former Zimbabwean lawmaker, human rights defender and former freedom fighter. Obert has previously worked as an international development administrator in Zimbabwe, Southern Africa, and Canada.

Obert is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Canadian Progressive, an independent political blog dedicated to producing fearless, evidence-based, adversarial, unapologetic, progressive and activism-oriented journalism situated right at the intersection of politics, technology and human rights.

Follow Obert on Twitter: @Obiemad