Expanded Canadian Internet Society board aims for proactive approach to digital policy

According to Canadian Internet Society board chair Brent Arnold, the addition to its board of several prominent voices in law and technology policy, along with some changes to the advocacy group’s processes, will help it shift from a largely reactive body to one that can proactively shape Canada’s digital policy agenda. Driven by a surge of legislative activity in areas like artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, and online harms, the Canadian Internet Society needed to better adapt to the speed of legislation, explains Arnold. During its annual general meeting held on June 25, the group expanded its board to include four new members: Emily Laidlaw, University of Calgary law professor and Canada Research Chair in cybersecurity law; Michael Geist, University of Ottawa law professor and Canada Research Chair in internet and e-commerce law; Jeffrey Philipp, head site reliability engineer at Fracturation.net; and Jason Kee, Netflix Inc. Canada’s senior manager of regulatory policy and former government affairs manager at Alphabet Inc.’s Google. “There's a lot happening in the digital space, and we realized we needed to be in a position to be nimble and to bring as wide angle a lens as we could to our forays into advising government and raising public awareness about these different kinds of issues,” said Arnold in an interview with The Wire Report earlier this fall. Issues such as data sovereignty and AI were not a big part of the public conversation until fairly recently, notes Arnold. “If you go back, let's say, three years, not a whole lot was happening in this space,” he said, pointing to bills C-27 and C-26 — the previous session’s proposed digital charter implementation act and critical cyber systems protection act — as the few examples of digital policies that were “working tortuous way through Parliament.” “Frankly, these things just weren't being made a priority, and I think what we've seen with the new government is a recognition that these things are what forms the new economy and the rules of engagement for our participation in the global community,” said Arnold. “So we're seeing a legislative agenda now that's sort of pulling a lot of levers at once.” The new board members bring industry experience and “academic heft” that Arnold says puts the Internet Society in “a better position” to deal with policy issues quickly and across a broad range of subjects. While the group had a policy committee that would address issues as they came up, Arnold says the Internet Society is now establishing regular “policy roundtables.” These discussions will lead to white papers and foster dialogue with government officials before legislation is formally introduced. “You get into a pattern of being sort of reactive to what the government is putting forward and we realized there are so many things that we wanted to be proactive on and start the conversation in areas where we think, frankly, more focus should be given.” The policy agenda for these roundtables is vast, covering everything from the cutting edge to more traditional areas, including AI governance, data and digital sovereignty, cybersecurity, online safety for children, and even traditional broadcasting issues like the future of CBC/Radio-Canada’s mandate and funding. To ensure open and honest discussions while maximizing speed, the policy roundtables are invitation-only and operate under Chatham House Rules, allowing participants to speak freely. Arnold explained that this makes it easier to have “sometimes hard discussions” on policy where “people can speak their mind.” Canada needs more policy advocacy to further digital sovereignty, says Laidlaw The strategic moves are underscored by a perceived shortfall in Canada’s abilities to conduct independent policy analysis, according to new board member Emily Laidlaw. To help shape the country’s direction, “Canada needs, especially now, strong digital policy bodies weighing in,” she said. Laidlaw noted that after spending almost a decade working and studying in the United Kingdom, she noticed that Canada has a much smaller group of “very active civil society bodies” focused on digital policy than some other jurisdictions. One of the outcomes of this smaller ecosystem, Laidlaw pointed out, is that — while the country has developed its own innovative approaches — Canada sometimes ends up relying on “almost a trickle-down benefit from the heavy lifting to address these issues in some bigger jurisdictions,” such as the European Union or the United States. She argues that approach is no longer sustainable, especially now that so much of the Canadian economy is digitally driven and “there are important questions about Canadian digital sovereignty, given the deteriorating relationship with the United States.” Laidlaw believes that Canada has “always struck the middle path” between the regulatory approaches often seen in the EU and the sometimes lighter touch of the U.S. As the global consensus on tech policy fractures with different jurisdictions taking different approaches, she argues that Canada has a unique opportunity to “bridge the differences between the EU and the U.S.” and carve out its own space. phalentm@thewirereport.ca

Expanded Canadian Internet Society board aims for proactive approach to digital policy

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By Phalen Tynes-MacDonald
|November 5, 2025

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Expanded Canadian Internet Society board aims for proactive approach to digital policy

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