Trudeau government condemns Nigeria's ban of Twitter while they to censor the internet in Canada

The official "Canada in Nigeria" Twitter account voiced their support for freedom of speech and access to information amid the country's banning of the social media giant after the company deleted tweets of President Muhammadu Buhari. Meanwhile, in Canada, the Trudeau government is actively attempting to censor its own internet with Bill C-10.

Bill C-10 is an internet censorship bill that seeks to regulate and censor the social media activity of Canadians. Under the bill, certain Canadians' social media pages and YouTube channels may be subject to CRTC restrictions and broader censorship.

"We strongly support the fundamental human right of free expression and access to information as a pillar of democracy in Nigeria as around the world and these eights apply online as well as offline," the statement reads.

Law Professor and Canada Research Chair Michael Geist noted this, saying that the Canadian government had "lost the moral authority to lecture others on respecting free speech, when it is actively trying to implement a gag order on further debate on Bill C-10, a bill with enormous implications for freedom of expression online."

The bill has been widely criticized by journalists and experts alike. Two weeks ago, an open letter was signed and published by an expansive list of respected tech critics. The letter calls on the Trudeau Liberals to "stop harming the Internet, and the freedoms and aspirations of every individual in this country, and our knowledge economy through overreaching regulatory policies that will have significant, yet unintended consequences for the free and open Internet in Canada."

"Now more than ever," it says, "all members of Canadian society rely on the Internet. A recent series of proposals and actions taken by your government threaten to adversely impact our freedom to access online content of our choice, to post legal content without fear of censorship, and even risk disrupting the technical infrastructure of the Internet.

"Such proposals include amendments to the Broadcasting Act in Bill C-10, forthcoming online harms legislation, and proposals from both the CRTC and the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Economic Development to block content at the network level.