ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP PRESENTATION

SOCIAL
MEDIA
REGULATIONS
Presented by
 AGENDA
INTRODUCTION RIGHTS AND
FREEDOM

POLITICAL POLITICAL
SIGNIFICANCE PERSPECTIVES
HOW WE CAN HELP SMART GOALS

CONCLUSION
 WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA? INTRODUCTION
Social media can be defined by
interactive applications and sites that
facilitate the sharing of information
and worldwide communication.

Ideas, opinions, and interests are

expressed and documented through
mediums such as images, videos,
written pieces etc.

“The Influence of Social media is being

used in ways that shape politics,
business, world culture, education,
careers, innovation, and more.”
(Sanders, 2023)
 WHO AND WHERE AND
WHEN WHY

Hate and negativity are often perpetuated online

Since the Covid-19 pandemic, there
through fake news and cyberbullying.
has been an exponential increase in
Cyberbullying is especially degrading to the health
the usage of social media amongst
and safety of Canadians which inevitably links
Canadians as we have relied on our
itself to the political issue of threatening citizens’
devices and social networks to
rights to feel safe. Both fake news and
communicate.(Home, n.d.)
cyberbullying have profound impacts on politics in
Canada.
Citizens who actively use social
media ought to be aware of how it
Fake news can be classified into misinformation
heavily impacts our perspectives
and disinformation. Misinformation can be defined
and decisions regarding things from
as the sharing of information someone may find
interests to politics.
true but is fake. Disinformation is the purposeful
sharing of false information, intending to
As teenagers are proven to be the
negatively influence and cause harm.
most active demographic utilizing
social media, they are impacted
The range of fake news can start from hoaxes to
most heavily. They are particularly
propaganda and are often hard to identify in the
susceptible to cyberbullying.
vast realm of content on social media. (Home, n.d)
Political events are essentially playgrounds for
disinformation and misinformation in this day and
age. In Canada, the majority of the country relies
on their devices to retrieve new information
regarding political events.(Home, n.d.)

As a result of increased information pollution

(false news) and cyberbullying occurring within
social media platforms throughout the past few
years, the implementation of social media
restrictions has been widely considered in Canada.
 RIGHTS AND
FREEDOM
The developments of social media regulation
bring both advantages and disadvantages as
while they can prevent the sharing of harmful
information, some argue that it infringes on
1
BILL C-18 AND
RELATION TO CHARTER our right to freedom of speech. (Ghosh, 2021)

Bill C-18 is an act that respects online communication platforms that make news content available to
people in Canada. The bill is constructed with restrictive policies, in an attempt to regulate prominent digital
platforms in Canada’s news media ecosystem. The government’s goal for the implementation of this bill is
to enhance fairness in the digital news market. (Bill C-18: An Act Respecting Online Communications
Platforms That Make News Content Available to Persons in Canada, 2022)
Bill C-18 operates as negotiations and deals between social media companies and the Canadian
government. Criteria from the government determine what news and businesses in the media are eligible to
be published. This bargaining framework proves to be efficient as it prevents power imbalances within the
media, thus proactively tackling harmful content or disinformation in the media.(Bill C-18: An Act Respecting
Online Communications Platforms That Make News Content Available to Persons in Canada, 2022)
2 FREEDOM OF SPEECH

Examining legislation for inconsistency with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, is
amongst the Minister of Justice’s most important responsibilities. Bill C-18 in particular was
shown to potentially conflict with citizens’ rights to freedom and speech.(Bill C-18: An Act
Respecting Online Communications Platforms That Make News Content Available to Persons in
Potential
Market
Canada, 2022)
However, section 1 of the charter suggests that The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
can only be entirely violated when additions are not- as stated in the article for Bill C-18 by the
government of Canada, “demonstratively justifiable in a free and democratic society.”(Bill C-
18: An Act Respecting Online Communications Platforms That Make News Content Available to
Persons in Canada, 2022)
Although the restriction of particular content on social media in other countries around the
world such as North Korea, seem dictatorial, Bill C-18 will seemingly never reach those lengths.
Rather than completely controlling what citizens can say to maintain styles of governing,
Canada promotes its own democracy by letting citizens share content online with minimal
regulations. (Bill C-18: An Act Respecting Online Communications Platforms That Make News
Content Available to Persons in Canada, 2022)

 POLITICAL THINKING CONCEPT:
OBJECTIVES AND RESULTS
CAUSE
The content on social media carries
the ability to heavily influence social
and political spheres, given the
mass amount of people who utilize
it. Unwanted content online has
been perpetuating harmful
ideals/beliefs such as racism,
sexism, misogyny, homophobia and
more. These issues threaten the
safety of Canadians affected as
they contradict democratic values
and our rights to feel safe in our
community. Thus, from this issue
stems an objective for the
government to politically build
upon.
ACTION PLAN
The Canadian government has begun to
invest in an invisible regulatory framework
for social media in Canada.(The
Government’s Commitment to Address
Online Safety, 2023). Bill C-18 is an act that
respects online communication platforms
that make news content available to
people in Canada. This bargaining
framework proactively tackles harmful
content and or disinformation in the media.
(Bill C-18: An Act Respecting Online
Communications Platforms That Make
News Content Available to Persons in
Canada, 2022). This action plan will initiate
positive long-term effects on Canadian
social media users, by ensuring the
termination of harmful/misinformative
content.
RESULTS
The implementation of Bill C-18
involves conflicting perspectives on
whether it actively protects us from
being exposed to false news or
infringes on our freedom of speech
and expression. However,
according to the charter of
Canadian rights and freedoms,
these regulations are not violations
of our liberation as they are
justifiable democratically. Canada
promotes its own democracy by
letting citizens share content online
with minimal regulations. After all,
something that ensures the safety
of citizens must be restrictive in
some manner.
 POLITICAL
SIGNIFICANCE
Government-initiated social media regulation
proves to be politically significant, as it
affects the majority of the Canadian
population, particularly the youth. As digital
communication has advanced and will
continue to exponentially expand into the
future, the effects of social media regulation
also prove to be particularly long-term. From
identifying causes that initiated the objective
to improve the issue, implementing action
plans, and observing the results, the topic of
social media regulation sustains everlasting
political significance.


POLITICAL
PERSPECTIVES
As the Canadian government feels
negative about this issue and
recognizes that it is a serious
issue that could take a
detrimental toll on the social and
political spheres of the country;
they've begun to invest in an
invisible regulatory framework
for social media in Canada. (The
Government’s Commitment to
Address Online Safety, 2023)
and Its Impacts on
Ensuring the safety of Canadian social media users,
the Canadian government believes that online
services themselves should be held responsible for
addressing harmful content that is shared on their
platforms.(The Government’s Commitment to Address
Online Safety, 2023)
A survey conducted during the spring of 2022 reveals
that 49% of Canadians believe that the use of social
media is a good method of maintaining democratic
values in our country. (2. Views of Social Media and Its
Those who negatively Impacts on Society, 2022)
view the sharing of From these surveys, it is also shown that the people
false information are
MARKETwho believe social media is a good thing for
proven to be less democracy are less likely to say that the spread of
likely to think social false information online is a serious issue (2. Views of
media is a good thing Social Media and Its Impacts on Society, 2022)
to sustain democracy
in our country (2.
Views of Social Media
Society, 2022)
 ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
1 THE DIGITAL CITIZEN INITIATIVE

The Digital Citizen Initiative aims to support

democratic values and social inclusion in Canada
by utilizing a multi-component, citizen-centred
strategy. This initiative includes strengthening
citizen resilience against disinformation online
and building trustful partnerships that support a
genuine information-sharing system.(The
Government’s Commitment to Address Online
Safety, 2023). Through the implementation of
funded programs inclusive of; Canada History
Fund, Canada Periodical Fund, and Youth Take
Change, The Digital Citizen Initiative promoted
the awareness of civic, news, and digital media
literacy.(The Government’s Commitment to
Address Online Safety, 2023)
3 CANADIAN HERITAGE
DEPARTMENT

The critical thinking and perspectives of

Canadian citizens directly correlate to what
online content we are exposed to, thus, as part
of Canada’s approach to protecting its
democracy in 2019-20, The Canadian Heritage
Department contributed a total of 7 million
dollars over 9 months to 23 projects run by the
Canadian civil society stakeholders to
simultaneously strengthen citizen’s resilience
against online disinformation and get them
involved in democratic processes. The projects
reached millions of individuals from youth to
seniors across Canada.(The Government’s
Commitment to Address Online Safety, 2023)

 Educate Others

HOW WE CAN HELP Utilizing social media platforms, raise

awareness about digital manipulation
and educate others on how they can
identify and manage fake news.

Get involved
Volunteer and participate in
community programs and activities
that advocate for online safety and
digital democracy.

Raise Funds
Contribute financially to Canada's
mission to sustain democracy by
donating to organizations such as the
Digital Citizen Initiative. Help fund
online safety programs.
 SMART GOALS
SPECIFIC
Identify the ways that you are negatively
influenced by social media by carefully
observing your activity and reactions to
news content posted on social media
platforms.
Report any digital content you see on social
media platforms that violate community
guidelines and perpetuates false
information.
Raise awareness of fake news in your local
community by speaking up once you and or
others are exposed to it.
Educate others on how to identify fake news
and manage it responsibly.
Repost accurate information and create
your own posts regarding the issue of fake
news frequently.
Donate and fund both community programs
and online initiatives that strive to improve
online safety.
MEASURABLE
Dedicate 1-2 reposts/created
posts to the issue of fake news
every week.
Spend a few hours each week
communicating with your family,
friends, and community members,
educating them about online
safety.
For however many hours you
spend online each day, be aware
of the issue of fake news and
keep the consequences in mind.
Encourage at least 5 friends and
the majority of your close family
to join community programs and
online initiatives that strive to
improve online safety such as The
Digital Citizen Initiative or media
programs funded by The
Canadian Heritage Department.
 ACHIEVEABLE
The goal is accomplished once you
have established a consistent posting
routine regarding the issue and
solidified habits of communicating the
issue with people in your community.
Create a social media account on
your preferred platform if you
haven’t already.
Grow the account by posting
information regarding online
safety issues frequently.
Create polls and petitions that will
aid in funding online initiatives
that strive to improve online
safety.
Get out to your community and
advocate for online safety
through participating in programs
and online initiatives that strive to
improve online safety such as The
Digital Citizen Initiative.
REALISTIC
Given this is an issue set in
the digital realm, and
considering the prevalence
of social media in the
everyday lives of Canadians,
these goals are effective and
worthwhile. Over a time
period of about a year, there
would be a feasible amount
of impact online from your
social media account and
influences made upon your
community.
The resources can be easily
accessed online and is not
necessarily inclusive of
physical materials or
finances as the majority of
the goals gravitate towards
spreading awareness of the
issue.
TIME BASED
Typically, it takes about a year for
a social media account to grow in
popularity, thus the digital
advocacy portion of this action
plan would take consistent effort
to post and repost throughout 12-
14 months.
It takes a collective effort to raise
awareness about the prevalence
of fake news in popular social
media platforms in Canada. Thus,
it is encouraged that everyone
who decides to involve themselves
in this action plan to be consistent
with informing/educating others
about online safety and putting in
sufficient effort to convince others
to do the same. After all, a goal of
any size can be achieved through
consistent efforts and ambition
shared by many.
 CONCLUSION
The results of my action plan should initiate
sufficient change in regards to social media safety.
RESULTS OF ACTION PLAN As people begin to identify the ways they are
affected by exposure to fake news online they will
feel obligated to educate others about online safety
. This action can be done by raising awareness
digitally, within your community, and financially
supporting organizations that strive for a safer
online environment in Canada. Not only should the
Canadian government respond to the prevalence of
fake news and other harmful content on social
media by implementing regulations, we as citizens
are encouraged to contribute to building a safer
online environment, sustaining democracy in this
country in all forms.
THANK
YOU
 References

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