Musk slams Trudeau over Canadian free speech regulations

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
2 Oct 2023 08:38

The CEO of X, Elon Musk, has strongly criticized the Canadian government led by Justin Trudeau for its actions that Musk believes curtail freedom of speech in the country.

In this file photo, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a news conference in Ottawa, Canada in 2020. (AFP)

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has faced criticism from US entrepreneur and billionaire Elon Musk, who accused him of attempting to undermine free speech in Canada due to the introduction of new regulations concerning streaming services provided by online platforms.

"Trudeau is trying to crush free speech in Canada. Shameful," Musk said on X.

Trudeau is trying to crush free speech in Canada. Shameful. https://t.co/oHFFvyBGxu
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 1, 2023

The big picture

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) unveiled fresh regulations for streaming services on Friday. These rules mandate that online platforms with yearly revenues exceeding 10 million Canadian dollars (equivalent to $7.4 million) must complete their registration by November 28. Furthermore, the CRTC specified that these registration criteria extend to social networks and various other online services.

Not an isolated incident

The Trudeau government has faced previous allegations of undermining free speech. In February 2022, Trudeau resorted to emergency powers, marking the first instance in Canada's history, in an effort to empower his government with enhanced authority for addressing the trucker protests against vaccine mandates that were ongoing at that time.

India-Canada dispute escalates

The recent CRTC directives followed Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau's controversial accusations suggesting potential connections between the Indian government and the assassination of a Sikh activist within Canada. India, in response, dismissed these allegations as "absurd".

So far, the Canadian government has not presented any public evidence to substantiate the assertion regarding the death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

As pressure exerted on Canada to provide proof of an extraterritorial assassination on its soil increased, media reports claimed that the government reportedly owns intelligence tying Indian officials and diplomats to the crime.