Newsletter: November 10, 2020

Weekly News (November 10, 2020)
Compiled by Emmanuel Appiah with Sara Bannerman
McMaster University, Communications Governance Observatory

(November 3– 9, 2020)

Canadian News

• [PRIVACY/SEARCH & SEIZURE] Court challenges digital searches at border (The Toronto Star)
• [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] Court hears challenges to Quebec’s religious symbols ban for some in public service (The Globe and Mail)
• [BROADBAND REGULATION] Trudeau pledges $1.75B to boost high-speed internet in remote communities ( The National Post)
• [BROADBAND] Ottawa approves SpaceX deal to improve internet access in remote areas (The Globe and Mail)
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS REGULATION] CRTC chair says lack of access to telephone poles is slowing spread of internet (The Toronto Star)
• [BROADCASTING POLICY] Ottawa needs to let producers make more ‘market-driven’ content, Corus CEO says (The Globe and Mail; Similar story with The Toronto Star)
• [INTERNET REGULATION] Leader of independent ISPs urges big reform of internet pricing (The Toronto Star)
• [TELECOMMUNICATION REGULATIONS] Large telecom rates charged to smaller providers must reflect infrastructure costs: Navdeep Bains (The Globe and Mail)
• [PRIVACY/HEALTH INFORMATION] Alberta privacy commissioner to review proposed changes to health legislation (The Globe and Mail)
• [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE/CENSORSHIP] Canadian Sikhs Fume At Social Media Censorship (The Toronto Star)
• [COVID APP] Why B.C. and Alberta aren’t signing on to the federal COVID app (The Globe and Mail)
• [ACCESS TO MEDICINE] Canada and other wealthier countries undermining efforts to ensure equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccine, report warns (The Globe and Mail)
• [TELECOM] Quebecor open to bundling its Fizz wireless with a partner company’s land network (The Toronto Star)
• [PUBLIC BROADCASTING/MISINFORMATION] To cut Trump off or let him rant: That is the question facing broadcasters (The Toronto Star)

International News

• [PRIVACY/DATA BREACH] Consumer Groups File Suits in Europe Over Data Breaches (The Wall Street Journal)
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS REGULATION] T-Mobile Fined Over Federal Billing (The Wall Street Journal)
• [BROADCASTING REGULATIONS] U.S. okays boost in foreign ownership cap in iHeartMedia Inc (Reuters)
• [PRIVACY] FTC says Zoom misled users on its security for meetings (The Canadian Press via YahooNews)
• [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE/POLITICAL COMMUNICATION] Thousands of Facebook Groups buzzed with calls for violence ahead of U.S. election (Reuters UK)
• [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE/LABOUR] This is a rotten future for work (The Toronto Star; Similar article with The Wall Street Journal)
• [FACIAL RECOGNITION] Face for sale: Leaks and lawsuits blight Russia facial recognition (Reuters)
• [PRIVACY/ADVERTISING] Streaming TV Advertisers Want Better Targeting—Minus the Privacy Backlash (The Wall Street Journal)
• [CENSORSHIP] #SavePornhub: Thailand’s online porn ban prompts backlash (Reuters)
• [BROADBAND REGULATIONS] Private 5G Networks Are Bringing Bandwidth Where Carriers Aren’t (The Wall Street Journal)
• [DEFAMATION] Judge Tosses Defamation Suit Against Jeff Bezos (The Wall Street Journal)

(November 3– 9, 2020)

Canadian Heritage

• Supporting a stronger, more inclusive and more competitive broadcasting system
• Backgrounder: Supporting a Stronger, More Inclusive and More Competitive Broadcasting System

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission

• Ian Scott to the 2020 Canadian ISP Summit

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

• Connecting British Colombia to high-speed Internet with the Universal Broadband Fund
• Connecting the Prairies and Territories to high-speed Internet with the Universal Broadband Fund
• Connecting Southern Ontario to high-speed Internet with the Universal Broadband Fund
• Connecting Quebec to high-speed Internet with the Universal Broadband Fund
• Connecting Nova Scotia to high-speed Internet with the Universal Broadband Fund
• Connecting the Atlantic provinces to high-speed Internet with the Universal Broadband Fund
• Connecting Northern Ontario to high-speed Internet with the Universal Broadband Fund
• Universal Broadband Fund and Telesat low Earth orbit capacity agreement
• Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada to hold technical briefing on Universal Broadband Fund, support for high-speed Internet in rural and remote Canada

 Microsoft

• An update on our AI for Health program

Facebook

• Send Payments in India With WhatsApp

 CRTC

News Releases:

• Telecom order 2020-368
  [2020-11-03 11:00:00]
  Rogers Communications Canada Inc. – Application to review and vary the 3 April 2020 Secretary General letter regarding the extension of the deadline for Bell Canada to deploy toll trunks – Public record: 8662-R28-2020002971

Senate of Canada

• Planned & Possible sitting days this week: No sitting days this week

Canadian House of Commons

• Planned & Possible sitting days this week: No sitting days this week
• Upcoming committee meetings:
• [ETHI] (November 9, 2020) Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics: Committee Business 

CRTC

Open Proceedings

• CRTC Open Broadcasting Proceedings
• CRTC Open Telecom Proceedings

Anticipated releases for the week of November 9-13, 2020

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 Part 1 application:

• Carlsbad Springs Community Association
  CJRO-FM Carlsbad Springs – New transmitter in Embrun
  Public record: 2019-1145-4

Telecommunications Decisions:

• CISC Emergency Services Working Group – Consensus report ESRE0086 regarding dispatchable location from originating networks
  Public record: 8621-C12-01/08

Open Public Consultations:

• Consultation on the Technical and Policy Framework for the 3650‑4200 MHz Band and Changes to the Frequency Allocation of the 3500‑3650 MHz Band (November 30, 2020)
• Reviewing access to information (December 12, 2020)
• Creating Canada’s 5th National Action Plan on Open Government (Deadline for replies: December 18, 2020)