April 3, 2026
Neil Thomson
825
Alview Crescent
Kamloops,
BC
V2B 6C5
Meta
Platforms, Inc. (Meta)
Mark
Zuckerberg
1 Meta
Way
1601
Willow Road,
Menlo
Park,
CA 94025
Dear
Sir,
RE: INTERNET REGULATION
I have been an avid user of Facebook and find the platform very enriching. Given that I’ve come to rely on it so much as a social vehicle. Given its value to me and society in general, I feel compelled to address some of the deficiencies or ills that social media generally causes.
The United States and Western Civilization generally are losing cohesion. Societal cohesion is faltering due to the amplification of the negativity bias that results from social media platforms. The amplified negativity bias is facilitated and or exacerbated by anonymity. Nearly every ill that has fallen out of the widespread use of social media can be attributed to anonymity and the resulting lack of accountability for what is said. When people can be identified, they can be held accountable. When people can be identified, they become more accountable. Anonymity throws the door open to subversive influence. Absent anonymity, Psychological Operations by entities are curtailed, misinformation and disinformation are curtailed, propagation of hate is curtailed; name an ill and it is curtailed.
When anonymity is absent, Facebook (Meta), can then clearly bill itself as a platform only, and it will be absolved of any wrongdoing due to the ability of authorities and negatively affected entities being able to go to the source. The onus with respect to any errant communication will fall to the publisher rather than the platform. Censorship will fall away from Facebook due to there being a clear avenue for aggrieved parties to seek recourse directly with the publisher.
The excerpt below offers a suggestion on how this challenge might be addressed. It was presented as a governmental policy solution; it could as easily have been an industry initiative.
Excerpt from a Letter to the Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture
The goal of internet safety should be to, firstly, protect
people from harm, and secondly, and as importantly, avoid encroachment on free
speech. Any adjudication in this regard must occur under the auspices of
fundamental law and should never fall out of the full purview of an open court.
What is happening now is a frustrating calamity of futile attempts by large actors in the business to offer protection. It is clearly failing on all fronts. The censorship I’ve encountered on various platforms has been arbitrary, often executed anonymously or ambiguously and in error or in a manner that prevents the free flow of ideas. Most disturbing, a picture of Micky Mouse when clicked upon can lead a child to grotesquely violent and graphic sexual material – an event that once it occurs, adulterates that child for life. While adults have the right to view adult material, there is a clear imperative to protect the innocence of children.
Whereas the present regulation and operation of the internet is permitting the transmission of information that harms the nation's narrative, exposes children to damaging materials, facilitates the anonymous abuse of people, allows foreign actors to effect discord and whereas anonymity is the facilitating factor in isolating perpetrators of harm from coming under the weight of the law, measures must be taken to have people’s actions tied to their identity. To this end, the government should enact legislation that makes it a statutory requirement that every person using social media in Canada be provisioned with an Internet Identity Number and that every platform operating in Canada is required to provide for the use of an Internet Identity Number for an account to function.
In the way that effectively every Canadian has a Social Insurance Number, every Canadian should have an Internet Identity Number. This proposition would also have as a requirement that anyone using any platform in Canada on the internet would require a number as well – so this would include foreign actors. The process would be to apply via the Internet and provide proof of identity, and how a given actor could be located with contact information. This would be achieved in the same way one proves their identity through services like Stripe and other online payment and collection systems. The number and the identity data would be held in a Government of Canada database.
The only requirement of the service providers would be one more mandatory field on the account creation form. If a person has multiple Facebook accounts, for example, they would simply put that number on each account. This offers no operational impediment relative to what happens now. Further, and perhaps most importantly, there would be a date of birth attached to the number, so if Porn Hub allows a minor to access their materials, there is a readily clear means to prove wrongdoing.
If an account operator engages in slanderous behaviour or is peddling profane materials, for example, and a complaint or action is required, there is a trail to the culprit. To garner access to the identity of the account holder, one would make an application for an access order via a lower-level court and on the strength of that court order, the government would release the contact information so action can be taken.
It may be the case that as Canada’s database grows to include a large swath of the world’s population, and then other countries would join the effort. It may evolve in much the same way registering an internet site has. We can demand appropriate regulation in Canada - we may end up effecting appropriate regulation the world over.
Anonymity is a two-way street.
Sometime ago I reposted a clip of an Australian Senator speaking in the Senate criticizing COVID policy. The post was blocked, or removed in someway and my account functionality was affected. The attached note indicated someone in the Australian press corps was responsible. I had no means of recourse.
Conclusion
We must act now and decisively. The fact that Western civilization's narrative is so badly fragmented, the fact that the public’s map of reality is so badly distorted, and the fact that we are experiencing an unprecedented level of discord can be attributed to the realities of modern communication modalities. These negative externalities are nearly all the result of people being able to remain anonymous. People are being permitted to lie, cheat, lure children, and sow discord with impunity. I respectfully urge Meta to consider supporting or piloting identity-linked accountability measures that preserve free expression while reducing harms enabled by anonymity. I believe this could strengthen societal trust in platforms like Facebook and help restore societal cohesion.
I would welcome any opportunity to discuss this further. Thank you for your time and leadership on these important issues.
Kind Regards,
Neil E.
Thomson
Mark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergMark 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