Weekly News (August 27, 2019)

Compiled by Ian Steinberg with Sara Bannerman

McMaster University, Communications Governance Observatory

Communications Governance Observatory Monthly Podcast Series

Podcast Episode 8: Platform Regulation Part 1 with Dr. Tamara Shepherd (17 min)

Podcast Episode 9: Platform Regulation Part 2 with Dr. Tamara Shepherd (17 min)

Canadian News (August 20-26, 2019)

• [HATE SPEECH] Editor of Toronto-based Your Ward News receives one-year sentence for promoting hate (CP/Spectator)
• [ELECTIONS COMMUNICATION] Canadian culture gets a little help from Friends (Globe and Mail)
• [WIRELESS GOVERNANCE] US gives Huawei another 90 days to buy parts from American suppliers (Globe and Mail)
• [ELECTIONS COMMUNICATION] Partisan ads elections law called ‘absurd,’ ‘lunacy’ (CP/National Observer)
• [POLICE SURVEILLANCE] Why police struggle to detect online threats (Star)
• [ELECTIONS COMMUNICATION] Don’t let ‘flat Earth’ party halt climate talk: McKenna (Star)
• [ELECTIONS COMMUNICATION] Opinion: Bernier wants TV debate rules broken (Star)
• [ELECTIONS COMMUNICATION] Opinion: In this election, candidates are going back to the school of hard knocks (Star)
• [PRIVACY] Opinion: No historical information must be protected (Star)
• [SMART CITIES GOVERNANCE] Opinion: Sidewalk Labs isn’t only choice for waterfront (Star)
• [PRIVACY] Opinion: Do people have the right to be forgotten on the internet? (Star)
• [WIRELESS GOVERNANCE] Unlimited wireless plans push mobile costs lower; Drop in cellular index offset by jump in smartphone costs (Star)
• [BROADBAND REGULATION] Eastlink will cut $50-million to capital investments over CRTC move on Internet rates (Globe and Mail)
• [ELECTIONS COMMUNICATION] Anti-immigration billboards promoting Bernier to come down (Star)
• [BROADBAND REGULATION] Telcos threaten to pull rural internet investment after CRTC lowers wholesale rate (Financial Post)
• [ELECTIONS COMMUNICATION] Opinion: Don’t bash Elections Canada for doing its job (National Post)

International News (August 20-26, 2019)

• [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE/PRIVACY] Facebook launches ‘clear history’ tool-but it won’t delete anything (Guardian)
• [SMART CITIES GOVERNANCE] Smart cities need to spend more on security tech, study says (Bloomberg)
• [PRIVACY] Google warns against blocking ‘cookies’ entirely, triggering criticism (WSJ)
• [PRIVACY] Facebook wins appeal against German data-collection ban (WSJ)
• [CENSORSHIP] Uighurs use app to flag missing relatives (Guardian)
• [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] South African court restricts displays of apartheid-era flag (AP)
• [PRIVACY] The spy in your wallet: Credit cards have a privacy problem (Washington Post)
• [WIRELESS GOVERNANCE] Cities are saying no to 5g, citing health, aesthetics and FCC bullying (WSJ)
• [SURVEILLANCE] Why protests are becoming increasingly faceless (CNN)
• [COPYRIGHT] Top US publishers sue Amazon’s Audible for copyright infringement to block new caption feature (CNBC)
• [PRIVACY] The war inside Palantir: Data-mining firm’s ties to ICE under attack by employees (Washington Post)
• [PRIVACY] New York City has been releasing burial records of fetal remains and names of women linked to them (WSJ)
• [CENSORSHIP] Federal officials raise concerns about White House plan to police alleged social media censorship (CNN)

Press Releases and Decisions (August 20-26, 2019)

Supreme Court of Canada

• Simon Peter John Dorey v. Pamela Anne Havens (B.C.) (Civil) (By Leave) (38632) The application for leave to appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal for British Columbia (Vancouver), Number CA45004, 2019 BCCA 47, dated February 6, 2019, is dismissed with costs.
• Riches, McKenzie & Herbert LLP v. Cosmetic Warriors Limited (F.C.) (Civil) (By Leave) (38626) The application for leave to appeal from the judgment of the Federal Court of Appeal, Number A-70-18, 2019 FCA 48, dated March 11, 2019, is dismissed with costs.

Federal Court of Canada

• [TRADE-MARK] Zara Natural Stones Inc. v. Industria De Diseno Textil, S.A. – 2019 FC 1083

Canadian Heritage

• Revitalizing an Indigenous Language with Youth-Oriented Multimedia Programming
• Backgrounder – Investing in Cultural Infrastructure Projects Across British Columbia, Including Vancouver’s New Chinatown Storytelling Centre
• Investing in Cultural Infrastructure Projects Across British Columbia, Including Vancouver’s New Chinatown Storytelling Centre
• The Government of Canada Invests More than $4 Million in Arts and Culture in Alberta
• Backgrounder – The Government of Canada Invests More than $4 Million in Arts and Culture in Alberta
• Supporting Improved Access to the Arts in Northern Ontario
• Investing in Arts and Culture in the Niagara Region

CRTC

News Releases:

• Broadcasting decision 2019-301
  
  [2019-08-23 11:00:00]
  
  APPROVED – Base Commander of Canadian Forces in Suffield – Suffield, Alberta – Application to amend the broadcasting licence for the non-commercial radio station CKBF-FM Suffield in order to operate a transmitter at Canadian Forces Base Suffield
• Telecom order 2019-300
  
  [2019-08-23 11:00:00]
  
  RENEWED – Sirius XM Canada Inc. – Across Canada – Renewal of the broadcasting licence for the satellite subscription radio services Sirius Canada and XM Canada
• Broadcasting decision 2019-299
  
  [2019-08-22 11:00:00]
  
  APPROVED – Radio MF Charlevoix inc. – Saint-Hilarion, La Malbaie, Baie-Saint-Paul, Petite-Rivière-Saint-François and Saint-Siméon, Quebec – Application to renew the broadcasting licence for the French-language community radio station CIHO-FM Saint-Hilarion, Quebec, and its transmitters CIHO-FM-1 La Malbaie, CIHO-FM-2 Baie-Saint-Paul, CIHO-FM-3 Petite-Rivière-Saint-François and CIHO-FM-4 Saint-Siméon
• Telecom order 2019-288-1
  
  [2019-08-22 11:00:00]
  
  Corrections – Follow-up to Telecom Orders 2016-396 and 2016-448 – Final rates for aggregated wholesale high-speed access services – Public record: Bell Canada Tariff Notices 7504 and 7533; Bell MTS Tariff Notice 798; Cogeco Communications Inc. Tariff Notices 52, 52A, and 52B; Eastlink Tariff Notices 37 and 37A; MTS Inc. Tariff Notices 778, 778A, and 778B; Rogers Communications Partnership Tariff Notices 45 and 45A; Saskatchewan Telecommunications Tariff Notices 329 and 329A; Shaw Cablesystems G.P. Tariff Notices 26, 26A, and 26B; TELUS Communications Company Tariff Notice 512; and Videotron G.P. Tariff Notices 52, 52A, 55, and 55A
• Broadcasting decision 2019-298
  
  [2019-08-21 11:00:00]
  
  APPROVED – Zazeen Inc. – Gatineau, Montréal, Québec and Sherbrooke and their surrounding areas, Quebec, and Toronto, Hamilton/Niagara, Oshawa, Kitchener, Ottawa, London and Windsor and their surrounding areas, Ontario – Applications to revoke the regional broadcasting licences issued to Zazeen Inc. for the undertakings serving the above-mentioned locations in Ontario and Quebec
• Broadcasting notice of consultation 2019-225-1
  
  [2019-08-21 11:00:00]
  
  Notice of hearing – 5 September 2019 – Gatineau, Quebec – Withdrawal of items 2 to 6
• Broadcasting information bulletin 2019-297
  
  [2019-08-20 11:00:00]
  
  Guidelines for all licensees of broadcasting undertakings serving the province of Manitoba – Provincial election
• Broadcasting decision 2019-296
  
  [2019-08-20 11:00:00]
  
  APPROVED – Radio CLARE Association – Comeauville/Yarmouth, Nova Scotia – Application to change the authorized contours of the French-language radio programming undertaking CIFA-FM

Elections Canada

• CEO Statement Regarding Third Party Requirements on Issue Advertising

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

• Minister Bains announces support for Canada’s next cleantech champions
• Backgrounder – List of cleantech projects receiving SDTC support

Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

• New activity sheets help start the privacy conversation with kids

Facebook

• Now You Can See and Control the Data That Apps and Websites Share With Facebook

Google

• Maintaining the integrity of our platforms

Upcoming Events

Senate of Canada

• No fixed and possible Senate sitting days this week; Senate reconvenes on September 17, 2019

Canadian House of Commons

• No fixed and possible House of Commons sitting days this week; House reconvenes on September 16, 2019

Supreme Court of Canada

Innovation, Science and Economic Development

• Consultation on a Policy and Licensing Framework for Spectrum in the 3500 MHz Band

CRTC

The CRTC plans to issue the following decisions, regulatory policies and reports 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:
    • Intercity Broadcasting Network Inc.
      
      CKFG-FM Toronto – Licence amendments
      
      Public record for this application: 2019-0574-6
  • Broadcasting Regulatory Policy:
    • English-language closed captioning mandatory quality standards relating to the accuracy rate for live television programming Public record: 1011-NOC2019-0009

Upcoming Public Hearings:

• September
  
  To consider the broadcasting applications listed in Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2019-225. View hearing documents (2019-225)

• CRTC Open Broadcasting Proceedings
• CRTC Open Telecom Proceedings

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—

Sara Bannerman, B.Mus., MA, PhD

Canada Research Chair in Communication Policy and Governance

Co-Vice Chair, Law Section, International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR)

Associate Professor

Department of Communication Studies and Multimedia

Togo Salmon Hall, Room 302

McMaster University

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Hamilton, ON

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+1(905) 525-9140 ext. 23722

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