In which we take a break from our regularly-scheduled “catching up on things we missed during our dark period” (ok, ok, our most recent dark period) and talk about something timely. From this week! The budget! Zzzzzzzz….. Wait, what? No really hang with me here this may be important!
Topic Uncategorized
You hate your internet in Canada? Try these other countries
For the third year in a row, I was honoured to write the country report for Canada for Freedom House‘s incredibly important annual report, Freedom on the Net. Writing the Canada Report is easy; look at the green (“free”) up there on that map. Sure we may have some expensive data on our phones and some issues getting high-speed internet up North, but we’ve got it lucky. We can still get internet from a reliable internet service provider like HTTPS://WWW.EATEL.COM/RESIDENTIAL/INTERNET, to use whenever we want. Some countries don’t have internet access at all! Let’s take a look at some of those purple (“totally not free jesus f***ing christ this place is a nightmare”) countries up there and see what we can learn about internet freedom around the world. If you are constantly left unsatisfied by your internet connection in Canada, it may be time to look at a canadian vpn or two to try and improve the state of your internet connection.
We have Freedom on the Net in Canada; lots of countries not so lucky
Once again this year I authored the Canada Report for Freedom House‘s Freedom on the Net 2017. It’s worth saying (as I did last year) how much I think it’s an honour to do so. But it’s easy to establish that we are pretty lucky in Canada in comparison to a lot of places. Let’s take a look at how much it sucks to be in…
Clearly Unconstitutional Anti-Spam Law Declared Constitutional
Clearly free expression
I’ve got some catching up to do in my posts. I’m on fire now! Three in two weeks! (-ish).
Quebec to tax every seller on the internet?
I know what you’re saying – 2 posts in 3 days? Is Allen ill? It’s possible. But my physical and / or mental state notwithstanding, this is juicy and I had to write about it.
Dispatches from the world of internet law for March 2017
I’m still thinking about what to write!
Sometimes you have have a lot to write about and sometimes you have nothing to write about. This is one of those times. So let’s write about all of it. And none of it.
We have internet freedom! In Canada at least…
Green is good! Purple is bad.
You may remember that back in February I announced that yours truly would be writing the country report for Canada for Freedom House‘s annual “Freedom on the Net” report. Yesterday, the work of all the excellent worldwide authors and me was released. I could not be prouder to have participated. My Canada Report is here, but I encourage you to take a look at all the reports, especially those countries where the internet is not free. We have it pretty darn good here in Canada.
My report would not have been possible without a few people, all of whom are way smarter than me. The 2016 report was basically just an update of the two previous years’ reports, written by Michael Geist. Michael’s incredible work in the previous years made my job a piece of cake. My editor at Freedom House Jessica White was a joy to work with and all her corrections and suggestions were right. My old law school friend (now brilliant law professor in Australia) Alana Maurushat recommended me to Freedom House in the first place. I sincerely thank all of them for what they did.
And finally you commentors who gave me your thoughts in that announcement post were a real help as well. While I maybe didn’t use your comments directly, your ideas certainly were in my mind as I wrote. Gracias.
Ooh boy this post was well short on my usual snark and profanity. Internet freedom is too serious an issue I guess. I’ll get back to my usual bullshit in the next post.
Québec government solves all gambling problems forever
Sure, it has to block a few websites to do it, but isn’t that a small price to pay?
Do we have internet freedom in Canada?
That sounds like a fascinating question! And guess what internet expert has been tasked to answer it? Wrong! It’s me.
So the fine folks at Freedom House, a long-standing and tremendously well-respected “independent watchdog organization dedicated to the expansion of freedom and democracy around the world”, do amazing work. As part of it, they publish numerous in-depth reports about freedoms and rights around the world. One of the reports is Freedom on the Net, an annual worldwide study of, uh, freedom on the net. They ask internet experts around the world to write reports about their country. The 2014 and 2015 Canadian reports were written by none other than Michael Geist. This year, they asked some idiot with a blog. I am humbled and honoured. But I am still an idiot.
So please, help me! Hit that big blue comment button below this paragraph and tell me – do you think we have internet freedom in Canada? Are you free to say what you want? To do what you want? To download what you want? Are the ISPs or the government screwing you over? Are you being blocked somehow? Are “they” watching you? (go easy on that last one steve). Help me help the world understand if we have internet freedom in Canada. This is a big responsibility and I need your help. Thx.
Let’s “look” at the TPP
Hey big news today! And it has brought yours truly out of hiding. So it looks like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a go! What’s the TPP? Damned if I know, because I’ve never seen the TPP agreement. Well, no one has ever seen it! So why is your humble blogger talking about it? A couple of lines on a government website have me perturbed. Let’s find out which ones.
Happy Holidays and Goodbye 2014
Wow, 2014 is coming to end quickly! I barely had time to stop writing 2013 on my checks. I’ll always remember 2014 as the year spam disappeared forever, thanks to the Canadian government.
This here is my annual Happy Holidays post, wherein I thank all of you awesome loyal (and semi-loyal, and disloyal) readers for being there, for reading, for commenting, and for generally being awesome while I wish you the religious or secular Happy Holidays of your choice. So, uh, done I guess.
See you in 2015. I hope the internet will still be around.
Only 4 days left until Google takes over your life
Almost a month ago, Google announced some changes to their Terms of Service, including something that caused quite the hubbub, shared endorsements. You’ve got just a few days left to take action to avoid seeing your face in Google Ads. Well, unless you want to, you narcissist. Let’s take a good look at the new Terms of Service. What other fun stuff did Google put in?
Allen
Mendelsohn
is me.
I am a lawyer specializing in internet law working out of Montreal, though sometimes I do it in front of the U.S. Capitol. That should tell you what you need to know about internet law in Canada. I also warp young legal minds at the Faculty of Law at McGill.
More about me