Weekly News (Apr. 16th – 22nd)

Communications Governance in the News

Compiled by Charnjot Shokar and Sumana Naidu

Research Assistants, Communications Governance Lab

Canadian News: Apr. 9 – 15

• [PLATFORM REGULATION] Canada fails to grasp scale of social media ‘bot’ use in politics, academics warn (Guardian)

• [TELECOM POLICY] Telecom mediator adds staff to deal with soaring complaints about Bell, Rogers, Telus and others (CBC)

• [TELECOM POLICY] Why your Rogers’ Internet fees can go up even though you’ve signed a contract (Toronto Star)

• [COPYRIGHT] Geist: Why the Canadian music industry’s secret copyright protection plan is off key (Globe and Mail)
• [CULTURAL POLICY] Liberals look to open doors in China to Canadian music, film, books and video games (Star)
• [ACCESS TO INFORMATION] Trudeau government should make ‘robust’ reforms to info law, report card says (National Post)
• [ACCESS TO INFORMATION] Federal department tells researcher his document request will be ready in … 80 years (Star)
• [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] Saskatchewan nurse fined for palliative care critique on Facebook loses appeal (National Post)

• [PLATFORM EMPLOYMENT REGULATION] Uber court ruling exposes dangerous loophole, critics say (Toronto Star)
• [DATA PROTECTION] Alang: Why it’s time to consider a personal data ‘driver’s licence’ (Globe and Mail)
• [PRIVACY] Hansen: How data-sharing era puts our privacy at risk (Globe and Mail)
• [DATA BREACH] Nova Scotia premier rejects Tory call for minister’s resignation over breach (Chronicle Herald)

International News: Apr. 9 – 15

• [PLATFORM REGULATION] Facebook’s Zuckerberg apologizes to U.S. Congress, vows to do better (CBC)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION] Teachout: Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook hearing was an utter sham (Guardian)
• [PRIVACY] Facebook sends privacy alerts to affected users (ABC)
• [PRIVACY] Facebook to stop spending against California privacy effort (NYT)
• [PRIVACY] Zuckerberg flubs details of Facebook privacy commitments (Financial Post)
• [PRIVACY] Naughton: Don’t just blame Facebook for taking your data – most online publishers are at it too (Guardian)

• [PRIVACY] With Facebook on the ropes, Internet providers seek to press their advantage in Washington (Washington Post)
• [PRIVACY] Google loses landmark ‘right to be forgotten’ case (Guardian)
• [PRIVACY] Instagram to let users download everything they have ever shared (Guardian)

• [ANTITRUST] Google poised to emerge unscathed from European antitrust crackdown (Reuters)

• [INTERNET REGULATION] Trump signs ‘FOSTA’ bill targeting online sex trafficking, enables states and victims to pursue websites (Washington Post)
• [MEDIA COMPETITION] Disney must bid for Sky even if Murdoch offer fails, watchdog rules (Guardian)
• [MEDIA COMPETITION] AT&T is trying to undercut the government’s star witness in the blockbuster Time Warner trial (Washington Post)
• [POSTAL REGULATION] Trump convenes task force to study US Postal Service (Washington Post)
• [ONLINE HARASSMENT] $6.4 Million Judgment in Revenge Porn Case Is Among Largest Ever (New York Times)

• [CENSORSHIP] New Target for China’s Censors: Content Driven by Artificial Intelligence (WSJ – subscriber access)
• [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] Vietnam jails 2 more activists in stepped up crackdown (Washington Post)

Press Releases and Decisions: Apr. 9 – 15

House of Commons

• Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage:
• Remuneration Models For Artists And Creative Industries In The Context Of Copyright: Launch of Study
• Phase I Of The Statutory Review Of The Copyright Act: Launch

Supreme Court of Canada

• [PRIVACY] Frederic Dwayne Wilson v. Her Majesty the Queen(B.C.) (Criminal) (By Leave) Charter of Rights  – Search and seizure – Reasonable expectation of privacy – Whether the Court of Appeal erred by concluding that the applicant did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the common areas of the condominium complex in which his suite was located or in the video surveillance footages of those common areas – Charter of Rights and Freedoms, s. 8.[…] The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.

CRTC

• Broadcasting Decisions
• 2018-122 – APPROVED – RNC MEDIA Inc. – Rouyn-Noranda, Ville-Marie, Fabre, Val-d’Or, Lebel-sur-Quévillon, Joutel and Matagami, Québec – Application to revoke the broadcasting licence for the French-language conventional television station CKRN-DT Rouyn-Noranda and its transmitters
• 2018-118 – DISMISSED – Unifor and its Locals 723M and 830M – Chinese and Southeast Asian Legal Clinic and Urban Alliance on Race Relations – Across Canada – Complaints against Rogers Media Inc. alleging non-compliance with OMNI Regional’s third-language news requirement
• Telecommunications
• Orders
• 2018-126 – Determination of costs award with respect to the participation of l’Union des consommateurs in the proceeding initiated by Telecom Notice of Consultation 2017-92 – File numbers: 1011-NOC2017-0092 and 4754-575
• 2018-125 – Determination of costs award with respect to the participation of the National Pensioners Federation and the Public Interest Advocacy Centre in the proceeding initiated by Telecom Notice of Consultation 2017-92 – File numbers: 1011-NOC2017-0092 and 4754-573
• 2018-124 – Determination of costs award with respect to the participation of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre in the proceeding initiated by TELUS Communications Inc.’s application relating to Telecom Decision 2016-171 – File numbers: 8638-T66-201607433 and 4754-542
• 2018-121 – Streamlined Order – The Commission approves on a final basis the following tariff application: Northwestel Inc. TN 1012
• 2018-120 – Streamlined Order – The Commission approves on an interim basis the following tariff applications: Bell Canada TN 7555 and CoopTel TN 82
• 2018-119 – Streamlined order – The Commission approves on an interim basis the following tariff applications: Bell Canada TNs 7554 and 7556; Northwestel Inc. TNs 1013 and 1014
• Regulatory Policies
  • 2018-123 – Review of the competitor quality of service regime – Public record: 1011-NOC2017-0049
  • Open Consultations
• Telecommunications
  • 8620-P8-201802215

Application for Occasional Use Wireless Services

Public Interest Advocacy Centre

• 8663-A2-201802067

Implementation plan for local competition in Aylmer, Ontario – Amtelecom/ Iristel

Amtelecom Limited Partnership

Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

• OPC adopts a new organizational structure
• Anne Bertrand appointed privacy commissioner, Ad Hoc

Microsoft

• Microsoft begins new EU GDPR parental consent verifications for children’s accounts
• Announcing the Defending Democracy Program

Facebook

• Facebook Launches New Initiative to Help Scholars Assess Social Media’s Impact on Elections
• Data Abuse Bounty: Facebook Now Rewards for Reports of Data Abuse

Upcoming Events

Senate of Canada

• Sitting days this week: April 17th-20th, 2018; Committee events this week: April 16th-20th, 2018

House of Commons

• Sitting days this week: April 16th-20th, 2018
• Ethics Committee [ETHI]
• Breach of personal information regarding Cambridge Analytica and Facebook
• Industry, Science, and Technology [INDU]
• Statutory Review of the Copyright Act
• Heritage [CHPC]: Tuesday: The State of Canadian Museums, Cultural Hubs and Cultural Districts in Canada

CRTC

• The CRTC plans to issue the following decisions and/or regulatory policies in the coming week. This list may be incomplete and is subject to change without notice.
• Broadcasting Decision:
• Decision relating to the following application considered under the Commission’s Part 1 process:

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
CBU-FM Vancouver and its transmitter CBU-FM-5 Prince George; CBUF-FM Vancouver and its transmitter CBUF-FM-4 Prince George – Technical changes
Public record for these applications: 2018-0033-4 and 2018-0034-2

• Telecom Decision:
• Bell Canada and TELUS Communications Inc. – Applications for forbearance from the regulation of pay telephone access line services
  Public record: 8640-B2-201606534and 8640-T66-201608606
• Upcoming Hearings
• April 30, 2018– Gatineau, Quebec

To Consider the broadcasting applications listed in Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2017-365, 2017-365-1 and 2017-365-2

View hearing documents (2017-365)