We need to regulate natural intelligence before it destroys us all.

Imagine thinking that law students wouldn’t use a pen instead of a laptop if the pen would get them better grades.

On Wednesday, the federal government introduced Bill C-34, the Safe Social Media Act, with the stated goal of making the online activities of Canadians safer. The bill raises significant civil liberties concerns, including through the limitless powers it grants the government and a new digital safety regulator. Read more here. ccla.org/press-release/ccla-…

This pathetic attitude is among the worst things about our political culture in Canada and I cannot reject it enough. It gets cloaked in the language of progressivism but it is deeply cynical, ugly, and regressive. Story time! Growing up, I was hugely inspired by RIM (BlackBerry). It was one of the reasons why I wanted to go to Waterloo. I thought it was so cool one of the most innovative companies on earth was an hour away from home. In fact, my program, Nanotechnology Engineering, was able to exist in part due to the philanthropy of Mike Lazaridis, who funded the Institute of Quantum Computing and Nanotechnology (along with the Perimeter Institute for theoretical physics, which is a brilliant asset for the province and country). Balsillie, for his part, has spent tens of not hundreds of millions of his personal wealth on advocacy and institutions to make Canada a better place. But he too was castigated in our media. Through high school, I saw how Canadas media took an axe to RIM founders (Mike and Jim), and basically cheered on the decline of the business against competition from Apple and Google. It was a complete disgrace. Well, in 2013 I got my second co-op job there, just as they rolled out BB10 (the QNX operating system). 6 weeks into my co-op, my entire department was laid off (Modems/Semiconductors). Nearly every one of my colleagues ended up moving to the US. Some of the most capable talent on earth, poached in weeks. It was loss that was absolutely devastating to witness. I have no doubt people like Bruce cheered on the spectacle, just like he would cheer the downfall of Shopify if it were to ever happen; despite the champion it’s been for the country, the thousands of good jobs it’s created, and all the spin-off businesses that have created huge wealth for Ontario. Well let me be clear that I will have none of this nonsense.

The debate in Canada about age-gating access to social media is a useful filter. It shows who believes in freedom of expression and privacy, and who is happy to sacrifice both get some regulatory hooks into US tech companies.

It took less than a week for government to go from AI for All to ID for All. Reports of a social media ban for kids will require identification for all Canadians. There is no unwinding that data collection and it is no replacement for effective regulation michaelgeist.ca/2026/06/you-…