Dear Bruce,

Let's kick off this discussion with 3 quick facts.

1. Elon Musk's Twitter, officially known as X, has a problem with many things, especially non-consensual, sexualized intimate images (often created by Grok AI). Women and children are most often the victims (more on this below).
2. The UK is planning to enforce a law that makes it a criminal offence to create these images. Additionally, the company could face a fine of up to 10% of its worldwide revenue (according to BBC News). In the UK, there's also discussion of a ban if X doesn't get this situation under control.
3. Canada is not considering a ban, according to our AI Minister Evan Solomon. However, thousands of stories are being shared on social media that Canada is planning to ban X (for now, this is officially not the case). The Minister also shared the following statement on X: "Our government is continuing to advance responsible AI, including introducing Bill C-16, the Protecting Victims Act, to amend the Criminal Code to include deepfakes as intimate images for the offence of publication of an intimate image without consent."

Now, I'm old enough to remember when tech companies would police their own platforms, ensuring that bad behaviour led to consequences, such as disabling accounts. In 2026, these tech leaders no longer care because, frankly, no one ever holds them responsible.

Also, I'm of the opinion that individual actions don't have much power to change how these platforms work. Yes, you can decide not to use X, but, as activist and author Cory Doctorow often says, that doesn't necessarily help with a systemic problem like this.

The longer we allow tech giants like X to operate in violation of the laws we have in place, the worse off we are as a society and a democracy. In short, while I don't think a total ban is the first step right now, we absolutely need to think bigger. Doctorow expands on this on his blog, noting that "systemic problems have systemic solutions. They are addressed through mass movements, impact litigation, political action, street uprisings, mutual aid, and other forms of solidarity and community".

The UK is doing a lot of the heavy lifting to hold X accountable. Canada, it pains me to say, has been slow to step up to protect its citizens online. In the Minister's statement on X on January 8, 2026, he says: "We must protect Canadians, especially women and young people, from exploitation" and makes reference to "continuing to advance responsible AI". First up, many of these deepfake victims aren't just young people, they're children. Second up, Canadians deserve specifics and details about what's happening instead of language that reinforces that Canada is continuing to do as little as possible.

Wherever you live, it's worth speaking to your government officials and campaigning for them to do more, like enforcing the laws that we have in place or creating specific new laws to better address digital safety. The longer we let these tech giants in the social space operate with impunity, the worse off we are as individuals, as communities, and as a country. -Amber Mac