Newsletter: August 31, 2021

Weekly News (August 31st, 2021)

Compiled by Emmanuel Appiah, Meaghan Wester, and Nick Gertlerwith Sara Bannerman, Fenwick McKelvey, Guillaume Dandurand, Marek Blottière, and Kevin Morin

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.

(August 24-30, 2021) 

Canadian News  

• [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE/POLITICAL COMMUNICATION] Le PCC porte plainte contre une vidéo libérale (Le Devoir)
• [PATENT] Calgary robotics startup Attabotics sues Boston rival for patent infringement (Globe and Mail) (McMaster; York) 
• [INTERNET REGULATION] Bell and Telus ask Federal Court to block Quebecor Inc.’s purchase of 5G airwaves in Western Canada (Globe and Mail)  
• [BROADCASTING POLICY] Lancement de Vrai: Nouvelle offensive de Bell contre Vidéotron (La Presse)
• [PRIVACY/VACCINE PASSPORT] Quebec defends vax passport after alleged hack (Montreal Gazette)  (McMaster; York) 
• [DATA SECURITY] RCMP probes hack of national spy watchdog network(National Post)  (McMaster; York) 
• [CYBERSECURITY/VACCINE PASSPORTS] Les codes QR de plusieurs élus compromis (La Presse)
• [DEFAMATION/FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] L’action collective contre la page Facebook «Dis son nom» rejetée (Le Devoir)
•  [MISINFORMATION/ELECTIONS] OPINION: Jonathan Kay: Can Facebook’s election fact checkers measure up to Twitter’s crowdsourced hive mind? (National Post) (McMaster; York) 
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY] Opinion: McKenna: Une première vraie raison d’éviter la 5G (Le Devoir)
• [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION/ACADEMIC FREEDOM] La commission sur la liberté académique a invité un historien qui falsifiait ses recherches (Le Devoir)
• [PRIVACY] N.S. privacy czar says Health Department improperly viewed and disclosed medical info(Toronto Star) (McMaster; York) 
• [INTERNET REGULATION] Rural broadband to get major upgrade: Horner (Toronto Star) (McMaster; York)
  
  

International News 

•  [DEFAMATION] Judge dismisses defamation claim against Roy Moore campaign (Toronto Star) (McMaster; York) (McMaster; York) 
• [LAWFUL ACCESS] House Jan. 6 committee asks telecom companies to retain phone records related to Capitol attack as it ramps up investigation (Washington Post) (McMaster; York) 
• [FREEDOM OF INFORMATION] ‘Calculated response’: Coalition moves to protect Future Fund from FOI laws (The Guardian) (McMaster; York) 
• [PRIVACY LAW] Privacy Law Will Help China Flex Muscles on Digital Trade (Wall Street Journal) (McMaster; York) 
• [PRIVACY] U.K. Plans New Post-Brexit Privacy Rules to Ease Data Sharing (Wall Street Journal) (McMaster; York) 
•  [PLATFORM REGULATION/ALGORITHMS] China swoops on algorithms in latest tech clampdown (Reuters) (McMaster; York) 
• [CENSORSHIP] Hong Kong to amend law to step up film censorship (Associated Press News)  (McMaster; York) 
• [FACIAL RECOGNITION/SURVEILLANCE] Federal government to expand use of facial recognition despite growing concerns (Washington Post) (McMaster; York) 
• [DATA BREACH/COVID APP] Indonesia probes suspected data breach on COVID-19 app (Reuters) (McMaster; York) 
• [TELECOM REGULATION/ROBOCALLS] FCC proposes record $5 million fine against Jacob Wohl, Jack Burkman for election robocalls (Washington Post) (McMaster; York) 
• [PLATFORM REGULATION] The Rise and Fall of the World’s Ride-Hailing Giant (New York Times) (McMaster; York) 
• [PRIVACY] Most Streaming Services Failed a Privacy Test (New York Times) (McMaster; York) 

(August 24-30, 2021) 

Google 

• Why we’re committing $10 billion to advance cybersecurity 

YouTube 

• Perspective: Tackling Misinformation on YouTube 
• Responsibility is good for business and for the creator economy 

Microsoft 

• The next chapter of cyber diplomacy at the United Nations beckons 

CRTC 

News Releases: 

• Telecom order 2021-296
  [2021-08-27 11:00:00]
  Northwestel Inc. – Request to extend Try-it-and-Save promotion for an additional year – Public record: Tariff Notice 1121 
• Broadcasting decision 2021-295
  [2021-08-25 11:00:00]
  RENEWED – Rogers Media Inc. – Vancouver, British Columbia; Edmonton and Calgary, Alberta; and Toronto, Ontario – Broadcasting licences for the OMNI television stations listed in the decision from 1 September 2021 to 31 August 2023 

Senate of Canada   

• Planned & Possible sitting days this week: The Senate is dissolved. 
  The 43^rd Parliament has been dissolved.  
  
  Canadian House of Commons   
• Planned & Possible sitting days this week, with possible extension of sitting hours: The House of Commons is dissolved. 
  
  CRTC   
  
  Open Proceedings  

• CRTC Open Broadcasting Proceedings  

• CRTC Open Telecom Proceedings  
  
  Regulatory Policies  
  
  Broadcasting   

• 2021-215 – The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Accessibility Reporting Regulations – Public record: 1011-NOC2020-0124 and 1011-NOC2021-069  
  
  Telecommunications  
• 2021-215 – The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Accessibility Reporting Regulations – Public record: 1011-NOC2020-0124 and 1011-NOC2021-069  
  
  
  Anticipated releases for the week of August 30-September 3, 2021  
  
  The CRTC is not planning on issuing any decisions, regulatory policies and reports in the coming week. This is subject to change without notice. 
  
   Public Hearings  
• To consider the broadcasting applications listed in Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2021-218 (View hearing documents (2021-218) (September 9, 2021)  

Open Public Consultations:  

• Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission: Call for comments – Introduction of a three-digit abbreviated dialing code for mental health crisis and suicide prevention services (June 3- Sept 1, 2021) 
• Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada: Consultation on a Modern Copyright Framework for AI and IoT (July 16-September 16, 2021)