Weekly News (Nov 6th-12th)

Canadian News: Nov. 6-11, 2017

• [TRADE; IP; CULTURAL POLICY] ‘We weren’t ready’ to close deal: Trudeau defends Canada’s actions on TPP (CBC)
• [TRADE; IP; CULTURAL POLICY] Rethinking IP in the TPP: Canadian Government Plays Key Role in Suspending Unbalanced Patent and Copyright Rules (Michael Geist)
• [SOCIAL MEDIA REGULATION] Regulate social media platforms before it’s too late (National Post)
• [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] Top US court halts Canadian order in Google censorship case (Globe & Mail / subscription access)
• [CRTC / COMMUNICATIONS MONITORING REPORT] CRTC report shows Canadians using more broadband, and paying more for it (Financial Post)
• [ACCESS TO INFORMATION] Despite outcry, committee makes few changes to Access to Information bill (National Post)
• [TAXES] Quebec will tax services of Netflix, other foreign online firms: finance minister (Montreal Gazette)
• [CYBER SECRUITY/ELECTIONS] Elections Canada wants someone to launch simulated phishing attack (Toronto Star)
• [PRIVACY] Body cameras on chicken catchers not reasonable: B.C. privacy commissioner (CTV)
• [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] UBC releases draft of freedom-of-expression statement, asks for feedback (Globe & Mail)
• [MOBILE] VOIP provider Plivo concerned Rogers will block all application-to-person SMS (Mobile Syrup)

International News: Nov. 6-11, 2017

• [MEDIA OWNERSHIP] Ajit Pai: Media Ownership Rules Must Adjust to the Digital Era (NYT)
• [MEDIA OWNERSHIP] U.S. Is Said to Suggest Ways AT&T Could Win Time Warner Approval (Bloomberg)
• [MEDIA OWNERSHIP] 4 states try to block conservative TV mega-merger (USA Today)
• [NET NEUTRALITY] How Verizon and Comcast are working to ensure states don’t pass their own net neutrality bills ; The move could shore up forthcoming deregulation by the FCC (Washington Post)
• [MEDIA REGULATION] Sean Hannity got in trouble with British regulators. There is a lesson here for Trump (Washington Post)
• [BROADCAST REGULATION] Comcast wins FCC decision in case brought by black religious channel Word Network (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• [SOCIAL MEDIA REGULATION] Keep Twitter Accountable Without Censorship: Social-media companies should lose their liability exemption if their rules aren’t viewpoint-neutral (WSJ / subscription access)
• [CYBER SECURITY] WikiLeaks Starts Releasing Source Code For Alleged CIA Spying Tools (Motherboard)
• [PRIVACY] Facebook asks for users’ nude photos so it can block revenge porn (The Telegraph)
• [PRIVACY] India Begins to Embrace Digital Privacy (Slate)
• [TECHNOLOGY] U.S. Supreme Court takes a technological step forward (AP)
• [CENSORSHIP] Trump Violates First Amendment by Blocking Critics on Twitter, Legal Scholars Say (Newsweek)
• [HACKING]  Data firm that worked for Trump asked WikiLeaks to share hacked emails (The Guardian)
• [INTERNET CENSORSHIP] Only if it serves the state: North Korea’s online experience (Japan Times/AP)
• [PRESS FREEDOM] US hits Venezuelans with sanctions in response to crackdown (Washington Post)

Press Releases and Decisions: Nov. 6-11, 2017

House of Commons Committee Meetings:

• [SPAM] Industry Science and Technology Committee: Statutory Review of Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation

Supreme Court of Canada

• [CENSORSHIP] Canadian Broadcasting Corporation v. Her Majesty the Queen (Publication ban in case)

Industry Canada

• [IP] Revised chapters of the Manual of Patent Office Practice released [2017-11-10] The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) has revised Chapter 12 and several sections in various chapters of the Manual of Patent Office Practice (MOPOP).

Office of the Privacy Commissioner

• [PRIVACY] Make privacy education a greater priority in curricula, privacy guardians urge
• [PRIVACY] Joint letter to the Council of Ministers of Education

CRTC

• [BROADCASTING] Caroline J. Simard to the annual conference of the Ontario Association of Broadcasters
• [COMMUNICATIONS MONITORING REPORT] Canadians demanding even more data, higher speeds in 2016: CRTC releases Communications Monitoring Report data on Canadians’ wireless and

Internet usage

• [COMMUNICATIONS MONITORING REPORT] Digital platforms continue to grow in popularity
• [ANTI-SPAM] Steven Harroun to the to the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology
• [TELECOM] Christianne Laizner to the 2017 Canadian ISP Summit
• [ELECTIONS] Voter Contact Registry in effect during federal by-elections in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador

Upcoming Events

Senate of Canada

• Planned and possible Senate sitting days this week: none; Senate sits Nov 21

Canadian House of Commons

• Planned House of Commons sitting days this week: None; House sits Nov 20

CRTC

• Anticipated releases for the week of 14 to 17 November, 2017: “The CRTC is not planning on issuing any decisions and/or regulatory policies in the coming week. This is subject to change without notice.”
• [BROADCASTING] Toronto, Ontario – Nov. 28, 2017 – Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2017-316: The Commission will consider the following applications:

1. Dufferin Communications Inc.Grimsby/Beamsville, Ontario Application 2014-1355-9
2. Durham Radio Inc.
   Grimsby/Beamsville, Ontario Application 2017-0257-2
3. Byrnes Communications Inc.Grimsby/Beamsville, Ontario Application 2017-0261-3
4. My Broadcasting Corporation
   Georgina, Ontario Application 2015-0361-5
5. Frank Torres, on behalf of a corporation to be incorporated
   Georgina, Ontario Application 2017-0561-7
6. Radio Markham York Incorporated, on behalf of a corporation to be incorporated
   Georgina, Ontario Application 2017-0568-3
7. TELUS Communications Inc.
   Kelowna, Nanaimo, Penticton, Prince George, Terrace, Vancouver (including Lower Mainland, Fraser Valley, Whistler and surrounding areas), Vernon and Victoria, British Columbia; Calgary, Edmonton (including St. Albert, Sherwood Park, Spruce Grove and Stony Plain), Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie and Red Deer, Alberta; Rimouski, Saint-Georges, Sept-Îles, Baie-Comeau, Gaspé, Montmagny, Sainte-Marie, Mont-Tremblant and surrounding areas, Quebec; and across CanadaApplications 2017-0446-1 and 2017-0592-2
8. Videotron Ltd.
   Various locations in Quebec Application 2017-0613-6
9. Byrnes Communications Inc.
   Niagara Falls and Fort Erie, Ontario Application 2017-0445-3
10. 2044577 Alberta Ltd.
    Strathmore, Alberta Application 2017-0478-4
11. Kenneth Collin Brown
    Barriere, British Columbia Application 2017-0437-0

• [BROADCASTING] Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2017-365-1: Notice of hearing 30 April 2017 – Gatineau, Quebec – Applications for the renewal of services with mandatory distribution on the basic service pursuant to section 9(1)(h) of the Broadcasting Act – New deadline for submission of interventions/comments/answers: 8 December 2017 – New deadline for submission of the applicants’ replies: 18 December 2017

Innovation, Science and Economic Development

• [BROADBAND/PUBLIC SAFETY] Targeted Stakeholder Engagement on potential Implementation Models for a Public Safety Broadband Network in Canada: Apr. 24, 2017-Dec. 20, 2017