Newsletter: June 1, 2021

Weekly News (June 1st, 2021)

Compiled by Fizza Kulvi and Emmanuel Appiah with Sara Bannerman, Fenwick McKelvey, Guillaume Dandurand, Marek Blottière, and Kevin Morin

McMaster University, Communications Governance Observatory

(May 26-31, 2021)

Canadian News

• [INTERNET REGULATION/COPYRIGHT] Federal Court of Appeal denies TekSavvy’s appeal in website-blocking case (Globe and Mail) (McMaster; York)
• [TELECOM POLICY] CRTC rules to uphold rates large telecoms charge small internet providers for access to networks (Globe and Mail; Similar article in Toronto Star) (McMaster; York)
• [TELECOM POLICY] Champagne needs time to review CRTC decision (Toronto Star) (McMaster; York)
• [TELECOM POLICY TekSavvy says government should overturn CRTC ruling, call in Competition Bureau (Toronto Star) (McMaster; York)
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY] Le CRTC fait marche arrière sur les tarifs de gros pour internet (Le Devoir)
• [TELECOM POLICY] TekSavvy demande au gouvernement d’annuler la décision du CRTC (La Presse)
• [TELECOM POLICY] L’impartialité du commissaire du CRTC remise en question (Le Devoir)
• [PRIVACY LAW] Industry minister open to ‘improvements’ in privacy law that watchdog panned (Toronto Star) (McMaster; York)
• [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION/PROTEST] Advocacy group challenging Nova Scotia’s ban on protesting public health orders (Canadian Press via CTV News) (McMaster; York)
• [AI/CANADA-CHINA RELATIONS] Chinese AI firm blacklisted by U.S. gave funds to York, Queen’s universities (Globe and Mail) (McMaster; York)
• [COPYRIGHT/NEWS CONTENT] Facebook to pay 14 firms for news (Hamilton Spectator) (McMaster; York)
• [COPYRIGHT/NEWS CONTENT] Facebook deal the result of Liberal inaction on web giants, says opposition (Globe and Mail) (McMaster; York)
• [COPYRIGHT/NEWS CONTENT] Opinion: Dias and Bernhard: Don’t be fooled by Facebook’s latest ruse to pay Canadian publishers (Toronto Star) (McMaster; York)
• [TELECOM POLICY/5G] A Trudeau cabinet minister’s secret back-channel to Doug Ford (Toronto Star)
• [DATA BREACH] Canada Post says 950,000 customers potentially exposed to supplier data breach (Toronto Star) (McMaster; York)

International News

• [PRIVACY/PLATFORM REGULATION] WhatsApp sues Indian government over new internet rules (The Guardian) (McMaster; York)
• [PRIVACY/GENETIC INFO] Two New Laws Restrict Police Use of DNA Search Method (New York Times) (McMaster; York)
• [TECH POLICY] Senate Puts Off Vote on Bill to Keep U.S. Lead in Technology (Wall Street Journal) (McMaster; York)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION/CONSUMER PROTECTION] Amazon and EBay Would Face Counterfeit Liability Under New Bill (Bloomberg News)
• [PRIVACY] EU bodies’ use of Amazon, Microsoft cloud services faces privacy probes(Reuters) (McMaster; York)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION/CHILDREN’S PRIVACY] Tiktok given eu ultimatum over child safety issues; Media (BNN Bloomberg News) (McMaster; York)
• [PRIVACY] European privacy groups challenge facial scan firm Clearview (Toronto Star) (McMaster; York)
• [INTERNET REGULATION] Russia Raises Heat on Twitter, Google and Facebook in Online Crackdown (New York Times) (McMaster; York)
• [GIG WORK] A Worker-Owned Cooperative Tries to Compete With Uber and Lyft(New York Times) (McMaster; York)
• [PRIVACY] Census Bureau’s use of ‘synthetic data’ worries researchers (Associated Press News) (McMaster; York)
• [MISINFORMATION/PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] Facebook’s Lab-Leak About-Face(Wall Street Journal) (McMaster; York)
• [CENSORSHIP/PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] QAnon slogans disappearing from mainstream sites, say researchers (Reuters)
• [AI/SURVEILLANCE] In post-pandemic Europe, migrants will face digital fortress(Canadian Press via Yahoo Finance)
• [MEDIA OWNERSHIP] OPINION: Navneet Alang: Now James Bond is in bed with Jeff Bezos, just because Amazon is a beast that must be fed (Toronto Star)
• [HEALTH DATA] Google Strikes Deal With Hospital Chain to Develop Healthcare Algorithms (Wall Street Journal) (McMaster; York)
• [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE/ ACTIVISM] Facebook’s AI treats Palestinian activists like it treats American Black activists. It blocks them. (Washington Post) (McMaster; York)

(May 26 – May 31, 2021)

House of Commons

• [RIGHT TO REPAIR] C-272 – An Act to Amend the Copyright Act: Second Reading(May 31)

Federal Court of Appeal

• [COPYRIGHT/SITE BLOCKING] Teksavvy Solutions Inc. v. Bell Media Inc. – 2021FCA 100 – 2021-05-26

Federal Court of Canada

• [COPYRIGHT] Winkler v. Hendley – 2021 FC 498 – 2021-05-27

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission

• CRTC sets final wholesale rates for broadband services
• Wholesale broadband services

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

• Statement from Minister Champagne regarding the CRTC wholesale access rates decision

 Copyright Board of Canada

• Re:Sound and SOCAN – Stingray Pay Audio and Ancillary Services Tariff (2007–2016)  (May 29, 2021)

Microsoft

• Another Nobelium Cyberattack
• Defend and deter

Google

• Tracking data to advance health equity

Amazon

• Amazon and MGM have signed an agreement for Amazon to acquire MGM

CRTC

News Releases:

• Telecom decision 2021-184
  [2021-05-28 11:00:00]
  Delay to relief implementation for area codes 289, 365, and 905 in southern Ontario – Public record: 8621-C12-01/08
• Telecom order 2021-183
  [2021-05-28 11:00:00]
  Streamlined order – The Commission approves on an interim basis the following tariff applications: TELUS Communications Inc., TN 561, TN 675 and TN 4404; 888 Telecommunications Corp., TN 1
• Telecom order 2021-182
  [2021-05-27 11:00:00]
  Bell Canada – Amendment to Local Network Interconnection and Component Unbundling – Routing of CLEC 800/888 calls – Public record: Tariff Notices 7616 and 7616A
• Telecom decision 2021-181
  [2021-05-27 11:00:00]
  Requests to review and vary Telecom Order 2019-288 regarding final rates for aggregated wholesale high-speed access services – Public record: 8662-C12-201912502

Senate of Canada

• Planned & Possible sitting days this week: Tuesday, May 31 – Friday, June 4, 2021.
  Upcoming Committee Meetings:
  • [TRCM] (June 2, 2021) – Committee on Transport and Communications: Bill S-225, An Act to amend the Copyright Act (remuneration for journalistic works)

Canadian House of Commons

• Planned & Possible sitting days this week: Tuesday, May 31 – Friday, June 4, 2021.
  Upcoming Committee Meetings:
  • [CHPC] (May 31) – Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage: Bill C-10, An Act to amend the Broadcasting Act[CACN] (May 31) – Special Committee on Canada-China Relations
  • [ETHI] (May 31) – Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics: Question of Conflict of Interest and Lobbying in Relation to Pandemic Spending
  • [INDU] (June 1) – Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology: Accessibility and Affordability of Telecommunications Services
  • [CHPC] (June 4) – Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage: Bill C-10, An Act to amend the Broadcasting Act

 CRTC

Open Proceedings

• CRTC Open Broadcasting Proceedings
• CRTC Open Telecom Proceedings

Anticipated releases for the week of May 31 to June 4 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 Regulatory Policy:

• Revised exemption order for still image and low-motion programming services
  Public record: 2020-324

Telecom Decision:

• Videotron Ltd. – Application against Câblevision du nord de Québec inc. regarding the cost of upgrading routers at points of interconnection for its third-party Internet access service – Public record: 8622-v3-202007525

 Public Hearings

• To consider the broadcasting application listed in Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2021-165 and 2021-165-1
  View hearing documents (2021-165)  (July 8, 2021)

Open Public Consultations:

• Access to Information Review Public Engagement: Reviewing access to information – https://atiareview.ca (March 31, 2021-July 31, 2021)