Newsletter: October 20, 2020

Weekly News (October 20, 2020)
Compiled by Erica Rzepecki with Sara Bannerman
McMaster University, Communications Governance Observatory

(October 13 – October 19, 2020)

Canadian News

• [COPYRIGHT] Top court to examine payment for classroom use of copyrighted works (Canadian Press via CTV News)
• [MEDIA FUNDING] Media organizations still waiting for rollout of key federal government support program (The Toronto Star)
• [PRIVACY] Happy Valley-Goose Bay’s policy for body cameras being reviewed by privacy commissioner (CBC News)
• [PRIVACY] Genetic genealogy technique used in Christine Jessop cold case comes with privacy concerns, warns expert (CBC News)
• [PRIVACY] Ontario looks at smartphones for storing government-issued ID  (The Toronto Star)
• [PROPAGANDA] Forged letter warning about wolves on the loose part of Canadian Forces propaganda campaign that went awry (Ottawa Citizen)
• [PROPAGANDA] Canadian military spent more than $1 million on controversial propaganda training linked to Cambridge Analytica parent firm (Ottawa Citizen)
• [COPYRIGHT] U.S. Supreme Court decision on Oracle lawsuit could have broad impact on software sector (The Globe and Mail)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION] OPINION: Birch: This is how Canada should deal with Big Tech (The Toronto Star)
• [MEDIA OWNERSHIP] OPINION: Bernhard: Give up your content or give up the ghost: The basic blackmail of Google and Facebook (The Toronto Star)
• [COPYRIGHT] OPINION: Stephens: Canada’s copyright laws are limiting opportunities for creative industries to recover income (The Globe and Mail)
• [ANTITRUST] OPINION: Campan: Importing hipster antitrust laws threatens our prosperity (Financial Post)
• [PATENT] Percy Schmeiser, Sask. farmer known for fight against Monsanto, dies at 89 (CTV News)

International News

• [PRIVACY/TELECOMMUNICATIONS] Private firms provide software and information to police, documents show (The Guardian)
• [SURVEILLANCE/PRIVACY] National guard spy plane monitored George Floyd protest in Sacramento suburb (The Guardian)
• [ELECTION/PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] Facebook says it rejected 2.2m ads for breaking political campaigning rules (The Guardian)
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY] U.S. to Offer Loans to Lure Developing Countries Away From Chinese Telecom Gear (WSJ)
• [TRADEMARK/PERSONAL INFORMATION] TD Bank files lawsuit against Plaid, accusing it of trying to ‘dupe’ consumers (Canadian Press via CTV News)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION] Amazon to escape UK digital services tax that will hit smaller traders (The Guardian)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION] If Facebook and Google limit services in Australia, could the ABC run a social network? (The Guardian)
• [CENSORSHIP] Thai authorities seek to censor coverage of student protests (Associated Press via CBC News)
• [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] Macron calls Paris beheading ‘Islamist terrorist attack’ (BBC News)
• [ELECTION/PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] Twitter and Facebook Contend With Concerns Over Election Interference, Censorship (WSJ)
• [ELECTION/PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] Twitter suspends accounts claiming to be black Trump supporters (BBC News)
• [ELECTORAL FREEDOM/PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] Facebook and Twitter restrict controversial New York Post story on Joe Biden (The Guardian)
• [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] Facebook bans Holocaust denial, reversing previous stance (NBC News)
• [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] YouTube bans misinformation about Covid vaccinations (The Guardian)
• [CENSORSHIP/PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] Instagram censored one of these photos but not the other. We must ask why (The Guardian)
• [CENSORSHIP/PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] OPINION: Kessler: No Quick Fix for Social Media Bias (WSJ)
• [AI/ELECTION] After deepfakes, a new frontier of AI trickery: fake faces (Financial Times

(October 13 – October 19, 2020)

Supreme Court of Canada

• [COPYRIGHT] Judgment in Leave: York University, et al. v. Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (“Access Copyright”), et al. – 39222 (Granted)
• [ANTI-SLAPP] Judgment in Leave: B’nai Brith Canada v. Alexander Dimitri Lascaris – 38614 (Dismissed)

Supreme Court of the United States

• [CYBER SECURITY/ANTI-COMPETITION] Writ of certiorari: MALWAREBYTES, INC. v. ENIGMA SOFTWARE GROUP USA, LLC – 19–1284 (Denied)

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

• Government of Canada appoints Justice Martineau to chair Copyright Board of Canada

Canadian Heritage

• The Government of Canada Announces Funding to Revitalize Métis Nation Indigenous Languages in Manitoba
• Building a More Inclusive Canada: Government of Canada Announces Funding for Anti-Racism Projects Across the Country
• Design Competition for LGBTQ2+ National Monument Launches

Office of the Privacy Commissioner

• Commissioner launches investigations into cyberattacks on Canada Revenue Agency and other federal organizations

YouTube

• Managing harmful conspiracy theories on YouTube

 Microsoft

• Microsoft releases biannual digital trust reports
• Why privacy is essential to equitable recovery

Twitter

●       The 2020 New Zealand Election is happening on Twitter

Facebook

●       Supporting Public Health Experts’ Vaccine Efforts

CRTC

News Releases:

• Broadcasting decision 2020-354
  [2020-10-16 11:00:00]
  APPROVED – Radio communautaire Cornwall-Alexandria Inc. – Cornwall, Ontario – Application to change the authorized contours of the French-language community radio station CHOD-FM Cornwall

Senate of Canada

• No sitting days this week.

Canadian House of Commons

• Sitting days this week: October 19 – October 23, 2020

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.

Anticipated releases for the week of Oct 19 – Oct 23, 2020

• Telecom Decision:

Canadian Network Operators Consortium Inc. (CNOC) – Application for expedited relief with respect to Eastlink’s unjustifiable conduct relating to Technicolor cable modems
Public record: 8622-C182-202000412

Upcoming Public Hearings

• CRTC Open Broadcasting Proceedings
• CRTC Open Telecom Proceedings

Open Public Consultations

• Call for comments – Establishment of new deadlines for Canada’s transition to next-generation 9-1-1 (Deadline for replies: November 9, 2020)
• Call for comments on an application by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters requesting regulatory relief for Canadian broadcasters in regard to the COVID-19 pandemic (Deadline for replies: October 29, 2020)