Canada News
U.S. social media platforms are a national security threat
Against this backdrop of robust national protection, it is puzzling that our leaders have allowed the social media space, which is a critical source of news and information for many Canadians, especially younger ones, to be almost entirely controlled by foreign companies. (Pexels Photo)
In January, a public inquiry into foreign election interference raised concerns about the threat of hostile nations, such as China and Russia, meddling in Canada’s democracy.
While these worries are well founded, Canadians should be equally concerned about the threat posed by our southern neighbour and erstwhile closest ally, the United States, whose tech companies control nearly all our digital public infrastructure, and whose leaders are increasingly aligned with a second Donald Trump administration which poses a direct threat to Canadian sovereignty.
These threats are not a matter of speculation. Just weeks ago, Elon Musk threatened to critically undermine the digital infrastructure of Ukraine, another apparent U.S. ally, after it rejected a proposal for at least partial American control over its critical mineral resources.
As Canadians prepare to vote in a federal election in 2025, it would be naïve to think we are immune from the global authoritarian trend which is being heavily fuelled by the power and influence of Silicon Valley.
There are a variety of interventions available to combat Big Tech’s power in Canada, ranging from promoting alternative social media sources, to imposing stricter taxes and procedural requirements on tech platforms, to even forced divestment.
Although any such action would be provocative, the U.S.-declared trade war is upon us, so the time is ripe to safeguard Canadian democracy against the threat posed by American dominance of our digital communications.
Maintaining a sense of Canada
Canada takes great pains to guarantee the independence and resilience of its information ecosystem.
Broadcasters and telecommunications providers are subject to strict requirements to ensure their values and ownership are appropriately Canadian. Canadian content rules require popularly consumed media to reflect our shared identity. The CBC is there to set a national tone in reporting and news coverage.
These ingredients have been essential to maintaining the strength of Canada’s civic spirit and our commitment to liberal democracy at a time of a troubling global rise in authoritarianism.
Against this backdrop of robust national protection, it is puzzling that our leaders have allowed the social media space, which is a critical source of news and information for many Canadians, especially younger ones, to be almost entirely controlled by foreign companies.
Apart from Chinese-owned TikTok, just about every social media platform that Canadians use is not only American-owned but is operated according to cultural and policy values that are set south of the border. In part, this may be because the United States has long been not only a close ally and trading partner, but also a robust and open democracy.
Throughout most of their history, the major social media platforms have generally reflected this democratic spirit, including strong attitudes toward freedom of expression and a general reticence against appearing politically partisan.
Increasing authoritarianism in the U.S.
But that era is now at an end and Canadians need to be clear-eyed about the danger that American social media platforms will abuse their enormous power and influence to undermine Canadian democracy.
The first warning signs came with Musk’s purchase of Twitter (now X), which he immediately steered in a more overtly partisan direction in support of authoritarians in the United States and around the world.
Now Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta which owns Facebook and Instagram, and Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Alphabet which owns Google and YouTube, appear to be following Musk’s lead and cultivating closer ties with the Trump administration.
All three CEOs, along with Amazon boss Jeff Bezos and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, were placed front and centre at Trump’s second inauguration in January.
Across the European Union, there is growing alarm about the possibility of American election interference, especially from Musk.
American tech CEOs wield unprecedented power and influence over Canada’s political discourse on their social media platforms and could easily tilt the playing field in favour of their preferred candidate.
Taking action won’t be easy
Effectively mitigating this threat will be a challenge. The federal government could impose national ownership requirements, such as those that exist for broadcasters or telecommunications companies.
This would effectively force American social media companies to either divest their Canadian operations or depart the country, a similar choice that was presented to TikTok after the U.S. passed a similar law targeting the Chinese-owned social media application last year.
Although such a move would be sure to anger powerful American interests, one might argue that, with the U.S.-declared trade war already underway, now is the time for bold countermeasures.
If forced divestment is too provocative, Canada could follow the European Union in imposing stronger procedural requirements on platforms, which would help to bring transparency and public oversight to their operations and guard against covert attempts at public manipulation.
This, too, would likely generate an angry response from Washington. Tech CEOs have already been seeking to mobilize the Trump administration to fight EU regulation. However, at this point, Canadian sovereignty and election integrity require that our leaders be clear-eyed about the threat we face
Action is needed
Canada should also implement solutions which dilute the power of foreign technology companies as much as possible. This includes supporting the spread of decentralized social media such as Mastodon or quasi-decentralized ones such as BlueSky.
Canadian institutions could do more to encourage uptake of these alternatives, including expanding their official presence and pivoting content away from the legacy social media platforms.
Canada’s leaders should also commit to strengthening support for domestic news providers, especially the CBC, as our best bastion against foreign misinformation. In the context of mounting threats to our information ecosystem, calls to defund the CBC are deeply concerning.
Above all, it is important for Canadians to recognize that threats to our democracy do not come only from Russia and China, and that historical partnerships can be vectors for attack.
Our longstanding and close relationship with the United States is likely the main reason American dominance of the social media space was tolerated until now.
But with Trump’s decision to proceed with 25-per-cent tariffs on all Canadian exports and the Canadian retaliation, everything is now on the table.
Canadians must think carefully about how to maintain our sovereignty in a shifting geopolitical landscape.
This article first appeared on Policy Options and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
