26 Facts About Michael Geist

Michael Allen Geist is a Canadian academic, and the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-Commerce Law at the University of Ottawa.

Michael Geist is the editor of four books on copyright law and privacy law, and he edits two newsletters on Canadian information technology and privacy law.

Michael Geist's blog on the Internet and intellectual property law is a three-time Best Canadian Law Blog winner.

Michael Geist was named one of Canada's Top 40 Under 40 in 2002, and Canadian Lawyer magazine identified Michael Geist as one of the country's 25 most influential lawyers.

Michael Geist has been listed globally as one of the top fifty influential people in regard to intellectual property by Managing Intellectual Property.

Michael Geist has received the Electronic Frontier Foundation's EFF Pioneer Award, and the Public Knowledge IP3 Award, regarded as two of the top digital rights awards in the world.

Michael Geist joined the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa in 1998, and was promoted to full professor in 2012.

Michael Geist has held visiting positions at the University of Haifa, Hong Kong University and Tel Aviv University.

Michael Geist is a Former Senior Fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation, and is a member of the University of Ottawa's Centre for Law, Technology and Society.

Michael Geist is author of a popular blog on the Internet and intellectual property law, and author of the "Law Bytes" podcast.

Michael Geist has served on numerous boards and advisory panels, including the board of Ingenium: Canada's Museums of Science and Innovation; the board of Internet Archive Canada; the Electronic Frontier Foundation Advisory Board; the Canadian Legal Information Institute Board of Directors; the Privacy Commissioner of Canada's Expert Advisory Board; the Information Program Sub-Board of the Open Society Institute; and Waterfront Toronto's Digital Strategy Advisory Panel.

Michael Geist has continued to play a prominent role on copyright in Canada, with numerous articles, speeches, books, and appearances before House of Commons and Senate committees.

In October 2011, when the Canadian government attempted to pass a new bill on copyright reform which included digital lock rules, Michael Geist argued that, based on former submissions to the government on Bill C-32 and the 2009 national copyright consultation, the bill was too restrictive and was primarily about satisfying US pressure, not public opinion.

Michael Geist is considered an expert on intellectual property and digital trade issues associated with trade agreements.

Michael Geist was similarly active in assessing the implications of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and reforms to the North American Free Trade Agreement, later called the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement in the United States or CUSMA in Canada.

In 2011, Michael Geist criticized the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission's history of inability to foster an atmosphere of competition that would allow third-party internet service providers to gain a foothold in the Canadian market.

Michael Geist did note, with the CRTC's usage based oral hearing on July 19,2011, that they were making efforts to address this lack of competition and criticized Bell Canada and other major companies for their involvement in limiting smaller ISPs.

Michael Geist has been a vocal supporter of net neutrality in Canada, writing widely on the subject and frequently discussing the issue in the mainstream media.

Michael Geist has regularly appeared before House of Commons committees to discuss privacy protection and potential reforms.

Michael Geist is the editor of the Canadian Privacy Law Review and served on the Privacy Commissioner of Canada's Expert Advisory Board.

Michael Geist is the editor of the 2015 book, Law, Privacy and Surveillance in Canada in the Post-Snowden Era.

In 2018, Michael Geist opposed a proposal to establish a website-blocking system in Canada to be overseen by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.

Michael Geist wrote dozens of widely cited posts on concerns with the proposal.

Michael Geist criticized the Online Streaming Act because it could limit consumer choice if imposing restrictions causes streaming platforms to charge more, or pull out of Canada.

Michael Geist expressed three major concerns with the Online News Act, Bill C-18.

Michael Geist opposes, in principle, requiring payment for links, indexing, and any other mechanism to facilitate access to news because of "the harm to freedom of expression and the free flow of information online".