“If you can’t regulate yourselves, government will regulate you,” the infrastructure and communities minister said during a panel discussion hosted by the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) and Friends of Canadian Broadcasting. McKenna also raised the spectre of antitrust investigations into the likes of Facebook and YouTube, noting how Facebook has faced antitrust scrutiny in both the U.S. and the European Union. (The Logic)

Talking point: These comments follow a drumbeat of similar warnings in recent weeks from Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault. Herself a frequent target of online and real-life vitriol, McKenna said a recent analysis of her Facebook page revealed “110,000, violent, abusive, abusive [and] hateful posts” directed at her. Yet panelist Daniel Bernhard of Friends argued the country’s ultimate authority on social media hate should be the courts, not Parliament. “If a judge finds that the content is illegal and that a platform amplified it, then the platform should be held responsible. And not only that, but that the penalties should be commensurate to their revenue and size so that it hurts accordingly,” he said.