Michael Karanicolas

@karanicolas

Palmer Chair in Law and Public Policy at Dalhousie Law. Formerly @ UCLA and Yale. All things tech and democracy. Dachshund enthusiast.

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Michael Karanicolas@karanicolas· 10d

I also can't help but notice how the plan for universities involves more hiring, with lower tuition and less donations. 🙃

The letter, which was reviewed by Bloomberg News, asks schools to publicly pledge to make sweeping changes that include reexamining admissions practices, hiring more conservative faculty, cracking down on student protests, combating grade inflation, reducing foreign donations and lowering tuition.

Michael Karanicolas@karanicolas· 10d

It's telling how the advocates of this plan call for institutional neutrality and the avoidance of political controversy on one hand, while simultaneously demanding that hiring processes explicitly be tilted in favor of right wing applicants. Everyone connected with AAU should be deeply ashamed.

“The American university is at serious risk of becoming a political football,” Storey said in an email to Bloomberg. “It is imperative that our academic institutions find a way to achieve the bipartisan support they need to attain the political and legal stability that is essential for long-term research, scholarship, and teaching.”

Martin, alongside Vanderbilt University Chancellor Daniel Diermeier, is a prominent supporter of a doctrine of institutional political neutrality, which McMahon touted in her letter.

Michael Karanicolas@karanicolas· 10d

"DO YOU KNOW ANY CREATIVE OR UNCONVENTIONAL WAYS TO PRESSURE AND PUNISH IRAN??"

Donald Trump standing in front of a boy pushing a lawnmower yelling something.

Michael Karanicolas@karanicolas· 22d

Nightmare fuel. Though at least we can look forward to how goofy the characters are going to look in their historically accurate armour.

Modern soldier wearing a copy of the dendra panoply armour in battle pose, looking boxy and with most of his face obscured.

Michael Karanicolas@karanicolas· Jul 12

See also:

Tweet from Nancy Mace saying “just when I thought I was out they pull me back in”, with accompanying image from Godfather 3.

Michael Karanicolas@karanicolas· Jul 11

Silvio Dante, underboss of New Jersey, complaining about anti-Italian discrimination.

Michael Karanicolas@karanicolas· Jul 10

lol get his ass.

Image showing the original post with 347 responses, 45 reposts, 198 quotes, and 244 likes.

Michael Karanicolas@karanicolas· Jun 29

Love how the SCOTUS Justices insist they are careful and neutral interpreters of law and tradition, while Trump himself is crowing about how this is the biggest unprecedented expansion of executive power in a century.

To show the importance of the Slaughter Case, 90 years of precedent has been COMPLETELY AND UNEQUIVOCALLY OVERRULED, greatly increasing Presidential Power at a time when it is most needed! President DONALD J. TRUMP

Michael Karanicolas@karanicolas· May 30

Michael Karanicolas@karanicolas· May 25

“Ceasefire”

Michael Karanicolas@karanicolas· May 20

I know it's not the main point here but wtf is he talking about AirBNB is illegal in New York? Dude's just spouting off nonsense.

Image depicts an AirBNB search for available listings in Manhattan, showing a number of options.

Michael Karanicolas@karanicolas· May 18

The author notes the risk of abuse, but doesn't fully grapple with how great a force-multiplier this would be to current efforts by the Trump administration to suppress critical reporting. Recall what @mmfa.bsky.social just went through, and imagine every NGO in the US facing this kind of process.

Nor can I ensure that liability for mis/disinformation would not be weaponized by the likes of Trump or his political allies, who frequently claim that truthful reportage that puts them in a negative light is “fake news.” But that risk would be worth taking if we concluded that the autocrats already have more potent tools at their disposal.

Michael Karanicolas@karanicolas· May 18

The author cites the BBC & CBC, but there are dozens of examples of robust public media, and a well-established body of standards for preventing these from becoming a propaganda arm: a public service mandate, independent editorial board, funding guarantees, etc. There's books written about this.

"If and when Congress and the administration change hands, it will be tempting to resurrect CPB or re-create something like it. I would not oppose such a move, but it carries risks. In stable constitutional democracies, publicly funded news services such as the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) make a healthy contribution to public discourse, providing honest and nonpartisan news reporting. However, in the hands of an autocrat, government-funded news organizations typically serve as sources of propaganda."

Michael Karanicolas@karanicolas· May 8

To me, the most valuable context to the UCLA fracas is: FedSoc were in violation of content neutral speaker policies. The administration bent over backwards to accommodate them anyway, and now they're being trashed on Fox News for it. There's a lesson here for how you engage with bad faith actors.

UCLA’s major events policy requires an organization hosting a qualifying event to give the university a minimum of fifteen days’ notice. I do not know if the Federalist Society chapter provided this notice. The fact that law school leadership only learned of the event one week before suggests not. If that is right, the organization’s failure would have been reason, under content-neutral policies, to require the event’s cancellation. Several student organizations issued a joint statement requesting the event’s cancellation, albeit on other grounds.

Michael Karanicolas@karanicolas· May 7

A growing number of countries are considering measures to block youth access to social media or other digital content. Today, the Information Policy Lab is launching a Report on the tradeoffs age verification offers for privacy, freedom of expression and child protection: cdn.dal.ca/content/dam/...

A male youth looks down at a phone, surrounded by images related to digital services. The image is the cover of a Report entitled: "Think of the Children: The Policy Trade-offs of Digital Age Verification".

Michael Karanicolas@karanicolas· May 3

I mostly agree with this article, but I feel the conclusion below misreads the moment we're in. The world's democracies have barely been interested in mustering a defence against technologically-enabled authoritarianism for the past decade: there is zero appetite for picking a fight with China now.

"The world’s remaining liberal democracies must expand their efforts to meet the moment, or risk ceding more of the globe to Chinese-style authoritarianism.

And because China’s assault on RightsCon is further emblematic of its broader efforts to influence global digital norms-setting, responding to this incident additionally demands that like-minded governments reiterate their support for multistakeholderism."

Michael Karanicolas@karanicolas· May 3

It's a short clip, and I don't know what led up to this moment. But it seems pretty clear President Kotlikoff was lying in his version of what happened. This is not maneuvering around where there's space: the student was directly behind the car when he started accelerating.

Their response to this was, “No, we are not going to stop.” They continued to follow me to my car and then surrounded the car, banging on the windows, blocking the car, and shouting. I waited until I saw space behind the car and then, using my car’s rear pedestrian alert and automatic braking system, was able to slowly maneuver my car from the parking space and exit the parking lot.

Michael Karanicolas@karanicolas· Apr 22

Excited to head to Zambia for #RightsCon 2026! I'll be speaking on a few panels, including on press freedom and disability inclusion with @alinaradu.bsky.social and partners from Human Rights Reporters Ghana: humanrightsreporters.com/human-rights...

Session poster for a RightsCon panel on May 6, 2026 at 10:15 am local time entitled: Silenced Twice: Press Freedom and the Disability Voices Under Threat in Africa

Michael Karanicolas@karanicolas· Apr 20

I mean, come on. What universe are you living in?

Regardless of what one thinks of the "emergency docket" or the Clean Power Plan, leaking confidential court materials poses a real danger to the integrity of the justice system.

Michael Karanicolas@karanicolas· Apr 17

Michael Karanicolas@karanicolas· Mar 31

"Epic handshake" meme format with Iran on one side, the Trump administration on the other, and "Destroying American Universities" as the commonality.

Michael Karanicolas@karanicolas· Mar 5

Straight from the horse's mouth: the destruction is the point. Force them to spend all their energy and resources on rebuilding critical infrastructure, and they won't have any capability to build anything else. It's the Gaza strategy all over again.

In a lengthy phone interview, President Trump marveled at the success of the military operation against Iran and expressed no concern about what comes next.

"I hope you are impressed," he said to me. "How do you like the performance? I mean, Venezuela is obvious. This might be even better. How do you like the performance?"

I said nobody questions the success of the military operation, the concern is what happens next.

"Forget about next," he answered. "They are decimated for a 10-year period before they could build it back."

Michael Karanicolas@karanicolas· Mar 2

This "diplomatic tightrope" language strains credulity. Are we really meant to believe Canada's situation vis-a-vis the U.S. is more precarious than, say, Barbados or Guyana? Call a spade a spade: Carney supports these strikes because his view of the region aligns with Trump's.

BARBADOS' STATEMENT ON EMERGING CONFLICT IN THE MIDDLE EAST
The Government and people of Barbados are deeply concerned by the escalation of hostilities in the Middle East. Barbados is concerned that military action affecting a number of other countries in the region has the potential to undermine international peace and security.
We join the United Nations Secretary General António Guterres in condemning the military escalation in the Region and call on all Member States to respect their commitments under international law. Barbados joins the Gulf Cooperation Council Member States and other affected countries in the region in calling for restraint and a return to dialogue and diplomatic solutions.
We regret the loss of innocent lives in this emerging conflict. The Government and people of Barbados take this opportunity to express their deepest sympathy to the loved ones of those affected by these attacks and pray that peace and stability will return to the region quickly.
Consular Advice to all Barbadians visiting or residing in the affected areas
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Barbados recommends that Barbadians delay any travel to the affected areas until conditions return to normal. Those currently in the region should stay alert and shelter in place.
Additionally, we urge all Barbadians in the region who may not have already registered with, or notified our official authorities of their presence there, please to do so immediately.
For assistance, please contact the Embassy of Barbados in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates at Villa #1, At Tarish Street, Al Mamoura. Email: abudhabi@foreign.gov.bb; Tel: +97125572799.
#pressstatement
#Ministryofforeignaffairsbarbados
#Barbados

The Government of Guyana reiterates the need for the sustained pursuit of lasting peace and stability for the Middle East.

The unprovoked attack by Iran on the Kingdom of Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Kuwait is unjustified and in breach of international law.

The Government of Guyana condemns the attacks on these Sovereign States and call upon all parties to de-escalate in the interest of peace and stability in the region.

Guyana expresses full solidarity with the Government and People of the Kingdom of Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait, and condemn all actions by Iran in attacking these countries.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation
February 28, 2026

Michael Karanicolas@karanicolas· Mar 1

Just randomly realized that the reason Dunk is so reluctant to knight Raymun Fossoway is because Ser Arlen never really knighted him, so Raymun would never be a real knight (and neither would anyone Raymun ever knighted… or anyone they knighted in turn….).

Picture of Raymun Fossoway from A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms about to be knighted.

Michael Karanicolas@karanicolas· Feb 19

Yeah just one small problem with that otherwise perfect plan.

Michael Karanicolas@karanicolas· Feb 5

In discussing the detainees, the lawyer also says: "I am not white, as you can see. And my family's at risk as any other people that might get picked up too, so I share the same concern, and I took that concern to heart." Cannot fathom how a lawyer can express that and just keep going in to work.

"I am not white, as you can see. And my family's at risk as any other people that might get picked up too, so I share the same concern, and I took that concern to heart."

Michael Karanicolas@karanicolas· Jan 28

Today, the United States announced its withdrawal from the Open Government Partnership. While unsurprising, this move is another nail in the coffin of America's global leadership, with particular regards to democracy and open government principles. www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/u...

Second, the United States cannot tolerate OGP’s embrace of divisive ideological agendas. Racial identity politics, anti-police bias, LGBTQ+ advocacy, feminism, and climate alarmism have increasingly dominated OGP’s policy agenda. These divisive agendas, driven by extreme ideological cliques, have destroyed the ability of OGP to credibly operate as a voice for transparency. Instead, OGP has become complicit in the
suppression of genuine debate and inquiry into harms of experimental gender "treatments” on minors and the destruction wrought by mass migration across the world.

Michael Karanicolas@karanicolas· Jan 25

I have my criticisms of Canadian speech policy - in particular related to the Combatting Hate Act, which I view as an unacceptable retreat from core constitutional values. But even here, the situation in the U.S. is vastly worse, where writing the wrong op-ed can get you jailed and deported.

In the case of Ms Ozturk, a Tufts University postdoctoral student, officials wrote that there was no evidence she had engaged in any antisemitic activity, or made any political statements indicating support for a terrorist organization or antisemitism generally... a dossier compiled about her centered on an opinion piece she had written in the Tufts Daily, a student newspaper, calling for divestment from Israel.

Michael Karanicolas@karanicolas· Jan 25

There's a lot to pick apart here, but this line, from an American, is especially galling. I teach at a law school. And unlike many of my colleagues south of the border, I can do that without a government apparatchik picking through my syllabus in search of wrongthink. Land of the free it ain't.

"Meanwhile, the modes through which Europe and Canada have sought to suppress populism involve harsh restrictions on speech, elite collusion and other expression of managerial illiberalism."

Michael Karanicolas@karanicolas· Jan 4

It makes perfect sense once you understand the problem with Maduro was never his authoritarianism, just like it’s not a concern for el-Sisi in Egypt or any of the Gulf royals. So if his VP is willing to start waving an American flag, why wouldn’t they embrace her?