On Wednesday, April 14, 2021, the Canadian government launched a consultation on “a Modern Copyright Framework for Online Intermediaries”, seeking comments from the public until May 31. The goal of this consultation is to “ensure that Canada’s copyright framework for online intermediaries reflects this evolving digital world.” Alongside the announcement of this consultation, the government released a paper entitled “Consultation on a Modern Copyright Framework for Online Intermediaries” (the Paper). The Paper provides a background for this consultation and outlines four potential avenues for copyright reform.
U.S. Supreme Court ended battle concerning President Trump’s blocking of individuals on Twitter
Introduction
The U.S. Supreme Court recently ended the legal battle between former President Donald Trump and individuals whom Mr. Trump had blocked on Twitter, by granting the government’s petition for a writ of certiorari filed when Mr. Trump was still the President, vacating the Second Circuit’s judgment against Mr. Trump, and remanding the case with instructions to dismiss the matter as moot. See Biden v. Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, et al., 593 U.S. __ (2021).
The legal discussions offered in this case may be significant for future disputes concerning speech made on interactive online venues made available by corporations and/or individuals.
Is social media regulation on the way?
So far, 2021 has seen some social media businesses implementing content takedowns, rolling internal reforms and banning high-profile individuals and applications from using their services. It has caused some tech commentators to question recently whether this could be a defining
Social media and Satan: pitfalls of losing control of brand social media accounts
Be careful whom you entrust with administrator access to your brand’s social media accounts. If an administrator does use your brand’s social media accounts beyond their permitted use, you should formally revoke their authority to access the accounts to allow potential legal action based on their unauthorized use after the revocation.
California legislature takes aim at social media user conduct
In the last week of March 2021, a bill was introduced in the California assembly that would require social media platforms to publicly disclose the specific user conduct that will get users temporarily or permanently banned from those sites—including online hate, disinformation, extremism, harassment, and foreign interference.