Thanks Blayne!

Finally, Canadian conservatives need to decide whether they want to placate the small number of Musk supporters in their party, or risk alienating the much larger pool of voters who see these images as vile. end/

Canadian elites also overestimate the importance of staying on X. Canadian users are declining, it doesn't have anywhere near the influence it used to, and it poses serious reputational risks 9/

I argue that while these may be reasons for inaction, they are not good reasons.

Canadians officials are likely overestimating the Trump admin's ability to retaliate here. Doing so would make them de facto defenders of nonconsensual sexual images and CSAM 8/

Finally, the Grok controversy poses a major problem for Canada's conservatives.

On the one hand, they want to be the champions of victim's rights and fight deepfake sexual images. On the other, X is very important to Conservative politics and any criticism of Musk risks opening a schism 7/

The second reason is that most Canadian elites still see value in staying on X. They see it as useful and want to stay.

Criticizing X while still staying on the platform risks looking insincere. 6/

Why such a tepid response? I point to three reasons.

The first is the threat of American retaliation. Trump officials have repeatedly threatened anyone who regulates American big tech. With the ongoing trade war, Canadian officials are walking on egg shells. 5/

Contrast this with Canada's response. The Government's AI Minister (Evan Solomon) issued a tepid statement about protecting women and children, and pointed to future legislation.

No mention of Grok, X, or Musk. No commitment to investigations, hearings, or anything else. 4/

Governments around the world have jumped into action. Most are launching investigations, some are threatening fines, others are contemplating banning X. 3/

bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c99kn52nx9do

Grok has help make X a global hub for deepfake, nonconsensual sexual images. Some images involve children. Some involve violence. 2/

www.theguardian.com/news/ng-inte...

Also, if you are part of a party that supported the Iraq War, 10+ years of Afghanistan, Libya, Brexit, Trump 1, and then Trump 2, I would say now is a period for thoughtful reflection and re-examination of your foreign policy priors.

I touched on these issues last year when I wrote about the international politics of Musk's X.

link.springer.com/article/10.1...