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OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says governments need to be wary of taking steps to regulate social media platforms that could be used by authoritarian regimes to further oppress citizens and stifle free speech.

As momentum builds around the globe for regulating tech titans, such as Facebook and Google, Trudeau made it clear Wednesday that he sees government intervention as a last resort.

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He made his case at the kick-off of the Open Government Partnership Summit, a gathering of civil society and government representatives from some 100 countries aimed at promoting more open and transparent governments around the globe.

Among other things, the three-day summit, being hosted by the Canadian government, is to consider ways to combat bad actors who use the internet to spread hatred and extremism, exacerbate societal divisions, sow distrust in democratic institutions and manipulate election outcomes.