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Recently revealed notes show that Trudeau is concerned unregulated social media platforms are ‘destabilizing our democracy.’
(LifeSiteNews) — Newly released notes show that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has lamented the fact that social media content is hard to “counter,” leading to speculation that his government’s lapsed web regulation bill from last year may be resurrected.
The recently revealed remarks were made by Trudeau on September 9, and come from a meeting he had with six lawyers from the Public Order Emergency Commission (POEC), the committee tasked with dealing with the fallout of the Trudeau government’s use of the Emergencies Act against the Freedom Convoy protest earlier this year.
In a detailed interview summary of the meeting, as unveiled by Blacklock’s Reporter, Trudeau was said to remark that his government “believes in free speech,” but that he “emphasized the need for governments to take online rhetoric seriously.”
The memo further summarized that in Trudeau’s view, “social media” has allowed for a “new way to foment anger and hate that is different from anything we have seen before, [is] difficult to counter, and it is destabilizing our democracy.”
“He raised the examples of spoof websites that look real,” added the notes.
Trudeau’s focus on social media may stem from the integral role the platforms played in the organization of the Freedom Convoy protest, which allowed thousands of citizens to gather in Ottawa to call for an end to all COVID-related mandates implemented by his government.
Since the convoy, it has been revealed that the federal government was actively monitoring the social media accounts of independent Canadian journalists covering the Freedom Convoy, as well as U.S. reporters such as Tucker Carlson who were sympathetic to their cause.
Last year, the Trudeau government had introduced Bill C-36, which critics warned would have censored bloggers and social media users, and could have even opened the door to giving police the power to “do something” about online “hate.”