QUESTION PERIOD — Privy Council
Social Media
November 20, 2024
My question is for the Government Representative. Several years ago when Twitter became a widely used social media platform, many of our government departments took to using Twitter to share important information with Canadians.
Now Twitter has turned into X. Its owner, Elon Musk, has removed any of the guardrails that once made the site a little safer and more reliable, turning it instead into a platform that gleefully promotes racism, transphobia, misogyny and Russian propaganda.
Is the government giving any consideration to joining the millions of people leaving X, rather than continuing to give its endorsement and imprimatur to the site?
I’m not aware of any decision to that end. I can assure this chamber that the government monitors carefully and consistently the social media platforms that it uses to ensure that it is present where appropriate and using platforms and tools that are in the best interests of Canadians.
I ask because, of course, the government has already been extremely proactive in telling government departments and representatives not to be involved with TikTok. We have gone so far as to shut down TikTok’s operations in Canada. Given all of the corporations that are leaving X because of concern about what staying there means for their corporate brand, is the government concerned about what staying on X means for Canada’s national brand?
Thank you for your question. I’m not in a position to comment on the government’s thinking in this regard, but I will certainly raise the question of the impact on the government’s brand with the appropriate ministers.
