Jen Gerson, national commentator and co-founder of The Line, will be speaking at Vancouver Island University on Wednesday, January 10 on “Free speech in the digital age.”
Last month, regulations for the Canadian government’s Online News Act were published outlining how the new law would be implemented. While Google will be paying $100 million to news organizations in Canada, Meta has been blocking news on Facebook and Instagram since the law was passed in the summer.
Gerson says that Meta’s decision to block news means that Canadians who rely on social media for their information are getting it from less reputable sources.
Students from the Muslim Women’s Club at VIU will also be attending the talk to challenge Gerson over a column she wrote in October about what she says is leftists’ support for Hamas’ pogrom in southern Israel.
Dr. David Livingstone, chair of VIU’s Liberal Studies department, says that people who may disagree with Gerson are welcome to attend and ask questions.
