Newsletter: February 2, 2021

Weekly News (February 2, 2021)
Compiled by Emmanuel Appiah with Sara Bannerman
McMaster University, Communications Governance Observatory

The Communications Governance Discussion Group meets every few weeks by Zoom.  Email organizer Derek Hrynyshyn <derekh@yorku.ca> for details.

(January 26 – February 1, 2021)

Canadian News

•    [COPYRIGHT/ONLINE NEWS COMPENSATION] Bill for online news compensation in the works: minister (The Globe and Mail behind paywall)
• [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION/PLATFORM REGULATION] Heritage Minister says takedown rules coming, welcomes calls for new social-media regulator (The Globe and Mail)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION/FREE EXPRESSION] Who should decide what you can’t say on social media? Debate rages ahead of potential government action (The Toronto Star)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION] Facebook exec denies federal recruitment tricks (The Toronto Star)
• [SURVEILLANCE/POLICING] Opinion: Christopher Schneider & Erick Laming: A looming monopoly in Canadian justice (The Hamilton Spectator)
• [PUBLIC BROADCASTING/DIGITAL] Opinion: Peter Menzies: Without a vision from government, the CBC’s licensing hearing is futile (The Globe and Mail)
• [PRIVACY] Opposition calls on Canadian government to stop contracting out visa applications to China-backed company (The Globe and Mail)
• [PUBLIC BROADCASTING/CULTURAL PROGRAMMING] Michelle Latimer serves CBC with notice of libel, while network cancels Trickster (The Globe and Mail)
• [INTERNET REGULATION] Peter Nowak: Broadband plan an indictment of CRTC delays (Toronto Star)
• [PRIVACY] McMaster students concerned about anti-cheating AI (The Hamilton Spectator)
• [PRIVACY] Now and post-pandemic, better data privacy and protections are needed for Canadians (The Hamilton Spectator)
• [PUBLIC BROADCASTING/ONLINE STREAMING] The real reason behind the sudden executive purge at CTV (The Toronto Star)
• [CYBERSCURITY] CSIS warns Canadian universities about Alibaba’s online platform (The Globe and Mail)
• [DEFAMATION] Patrick Brown wins lawsuit against insurer for libel coverage (Toronto Star; Also available in BayToday)
• [DEFAMATION] Court dismisses defamation lawsuit against Ford filed by ex-OPP deputy commissioner (National Post)

International News

•  [TECH REGULATION/PLANNED OBSOLENCE] Italian consumer group sues Apple over planned iPhone obsolescence (Reuters)
• [ANTI-COMPETITION/PLATFORM REGULATION] Australia’s competition regulator could take Google to court over potential misuse of market power (The Guardian)
• [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE/FREEDOM OF SPEECH] Facebook board set to rule on Trump ban reverses four content removal cases (The Guardian)
• [PRIVACY] EU Aims to Seal Data-Flow Deals With U.S. and Britain (The Wall Street Journal)
•  [NET NEUTRALITY] Democrats face pressure to revive net neutrality rules (The Washington Post)
• [NATIONAL SECURITY/AI] U.S. commission cites ‘moral imperative’ to explore AI weapons (Reuters)
• [BROADBAND REGULATION] Elon Musk’s SpaceX Riles Its Rivals for Broadband Subsidies (The Wall Street Journal)
•  [PRIVACY/PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] Apple CEO Cook blasts rivals ahead of privacy update (Associated Press via CTV News)
•  [PRIVACY] What We Learned From Apple’s New Privacy Labels (The New York Times)
• [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says platform will halt political suggestions  (The Guardian)
• [PRIVACY] Facebook Hires Its First Chief Compliance Officer (The Wall Street Journal)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION/MISINFORMATION] Opinion: Big tech was allowed to spread misinformation unchecked. Will Biden hold them accountable? (The Guardian)
• [FREEDOM OF SPEECH] Outcry, arrests in Turkey over Mecca poster with LGBT flags (Associated Press via CTV News)
• [DEFAMATION] Facebook, Reddit rated worst in ADL’s online Holocaust denial report (The Hill)
• [FREEDOM OF SPEECH/MISINFORMATION] Opinion: George Monbiot: Covid lies cost lives – we have a duty to clamp down on them (The Guardian)
• [PRIVACY/SURVEILLANCE] Shoshana Zuboff: The Coup We Are Not Talking About (The New York Times)
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] Product design to racial justice: Global plan to promote ethical AI (Reuters via National Post)

(January 26 – February 1, 2021)

Competition Bureau Canada

• Canadian company fined $15 million for subscription trap scam
• 2021 Vancouver Competition Policy Roundtable speech

Copyright Board of Canada

• Application to fix royalties for a licence and its related terms and conditions (SODRAC v. CBC, 2012-2018 [Determination]) – 2021 CB 1 – 2021-01-27 – Determination

Supreme Court of Canada

• The Supreme Court of Canada has today deposited with the Registrar judgments in the following leave applications.

• [Search & Seizure] Sean Patrick Mackey v. Her Majesty the Queen (Ont.) (Criminal) (By Leave) (39327) (Dismissed)

Google

• GSEC Dublin: A content responsibility center for Europe

Microsoft

• 2021 Washington state Legislative Session priorities

Facebook

• Responding to the Oversight Board’s First Decisions
• How Does News Feed Predict What You Want to See?

 Apple

• Data Privacy Day at Apple: Improving transparency and empowering users

CRTC

News Releases:

• Broadcasting information bulletin 2021-41
  [2021-01-29 11:00:00]
  Notification of the Broadcasting Arbitrator
• Telecom order 2021-40
  [2021-01-29 11:00:00]
  Streamlined order – The Commission approves on an interim basis the following tariff applications: Bell MTS, a division of Bell Canada TN 831, Northwestel Inc. TN 1111
• Broadcasting decision 2021-39
  [2021-01-28 11:00:00]
  APPROVED – Jasper Broadcasting Inc. – Across Canada – Application to revoke the broadcasting licence for the English-language discretionary service BBC Canada

Senate of Canada

• Planned & Possible sitting days this week: February 2^nd-5^th, 2021

Canadian House of Commons

• Planned & Possible sitting days this week: February 1^st-5^th, 2021
• Upcoming committee meetings:
• [ETHI] (February 1, 2021) Standing Committee on Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics: Protection of Privacy and Reputation on Platforms such as Pornhub
• [CHPC] (February 1, 2021) Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage: Subject Matter of Bill C-10
• [CACN] (February 1, 2021) Special Committee on Canada-China Relations
• [PROC] (February 2, 2021) Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs: Conduct of a Federal Election during the COVID-19 Pandemic

CRTC

Open Proceedings

• CRTC Open Broadcasting Proceedings
• CRTC Open Telecom Proceedings

Anticipated releases for the week of February 1-5, 2021

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:

Decisions relating to the following applications considered under the Commission’s Part 1 process:

• Applications by various licensees to renew the broadcasting licences for various radio stations

         Regulatory Policies

Broadcasting
2021-3 – Revised list of non-Canadian programming services and stations authorized for distribution – Annual compilation of amendments

Public Hearings

• To consider the broadcasting application listed in Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2020-396 – View hearing documents (2020-396) (February 25, 2021)

Open Public Consultations:

• Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission: Commercial radio policy framework review (Nov 12, 2020 to March 29, 2021)
• Government Procurement: Update to the Practitioner’s Guide for Procurement Pricing (Jan 5, 2021 to Mar 15, 2021)