Newsletter: October 13, 2021

Weekly News (October 13th, 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

(October 5-12, 2021)

Canadian News 

• [PRIVACY] New privacy protections for sex-assault complainants undermine rights of accused, Supreme Court hears (Globe & Mail)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION] The first 100 days: Major battle over free speech, internet regulation looms when Parliament returns (National Post)
• [PRIVACY] Protestors ask for right to choose and privacy (Toronto Star)
• [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] Despite repressive new law, animal activists won’t be deterred(Toronto Star)
• [PRIVACY] ‘We are flying blind’: With hundreds of COVID-19 cases in Ontario schools, why numbers alone don’t tell the whole story (Toronto Star)
• [ESPIONAGE/SECURITY OF INFORMATION/PRESS FREEDOM] Chelsea Manning’s sentence was commuted in the U.S. Will Canada now let her in? (Toronto Star)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION] EDITORIAL: Patience with Facebook has run out. Ottawa must get back to taming Big Tech (Toronto Star)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION] OPINION: Kogan: Canadian government’s proposed online harms legislation threatens our human rights (CBC News)
• [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] OPINION: Menzies: Stop messing with free speech on the internet (National Post)
• [MEDIA GOVERNANCE] OPINION: Dwivedi: Journalists need more than empty statements from their media companies (Toronto Star)
  
  

International News

• [PLATFORM REGULATION] Facebook Hearing Strengthens Calls for Regulation in Europe(New York Times)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION] Facebook whistleblower’s testimony could finally spark action in Congress (The Guardian)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION/ELECTION COMMUNICATIONS] Facebook’s power to influence an election ‘really dangerous,’ says critic (Globe & Mail)
• [DEFAMATION] Australian prime minister criticizes social media amid defamation law controversy (Globe & Mail)
• [PRIVACY] Facebook whistleblower reignites bipartisan support for curbing Big Tech(Washington Post)
• [INTERNET REGULATION/MEDIA OWNERSHIP] China Targets News Media in Xi Jinping’s Campaign to Expand Communist Party Control (Wall Street Journal)
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY/NET NEUTRALITY] Squid Game’s success reopens who pays debate over rising internet traffic (The Guardian)
• [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] Google cracks down on climate change denial by targeting ads(AP News)
• [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] Apologies were once staples after Facebook scandals. Now the company offers defiance. (Washington Post)
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] China has won AI battle with U.S., Pentagon’s ex-software chief says  (Reuters)
• [DATA SECURITY/PRIVACY] China to set assessment measures to regulate data sent abroad by cars (Reuters)
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY] Huawei, Ericsson or Nokia? Apple or Samsung? U.S. or China? Who’s Winning the 5G Races (Wall Street Journal)
• [SURVEILLANCE] ‘Dystopian world’: Singapore patrol robots stoke fears of surveillance state(The Guardian)
• [MISINFORMATION] China is exploiting search engines to push propaganda about origins of covid-19, study finds (Washington Post)
• [CYBERSECURITY/PRIVACY] Huge hack reveals embarrassing details of who’s behind Proud Boys and other far-right websites (Washington Post)
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] AI May Be Voicing the Next Foreign Film You Watch (Wall Street Journal)
• [PRIVACY] Cyberattacks concerning to most in US: Pearson/AP-NORC poll (Canadian Press)
• [MEDIA GOVERNANCE] The fallout over Clear Channel’s (possibly apocryphal) do-not-play list lasted well past 9/11 (Washington Post)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION] OPINION: Schiller: Like Facebook, AT&T once dominated communications. The difference? It was regulated. (Washington Post)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION] OPINION: Persily: Facebook Hides Data Showing It Harms Users. Outside Scholars Need Access. (Washington Post)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION] OPINION: Kosseff & Keller: Why outlawing harmful social media content would face an uphill legal battle (Washington Post)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION] OPINION: Corcoran: Big Tech faces regulatory authoritarians(National Post)
• [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] OPINION: Sensenbrenner: The Patriot Act Wasn’t Meant to Target Parents (Wall Street Journal)

(October 5-12, 2021)

Supreme Court of Canada

• Appeals heard:

• • [PRIVACY] Her Majesty the Queen v. J.J. (B.C.) (Criminal) (By Leave) (39133) and A.S. v. Her Majesty the Queen, et al. (Ont.) (Criminal) (By Leave) (39516) – October 6, 2021

• Judgements in leave applications:

• • [PRIVACY / SEARCH & SEIZURE] Christopher Gero v. Her Majesty the Queen (Ont.) (Criminal) (By Leave) (39665): The motion for leave to intervene filed by the Criminal Lawyers’ Association is dismissed. The motion for an extension of time to serve and file the application for leave to appeal is granted. The application for leave to appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal for Ontario, Number C64561, 2021 ONCA 50, dated January 27, 2021, is dismissed.
  • [INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY] Apotex Inc. v. Shire LLC and Shire Pharma Canada ULC(F.C.) (Civil) (By Leave) (39662): The motion to join two Federal Court of Appeal files in a single application for leave to appeal is granted. The application for leave to appeal from the judgment of the Federal Court of Appeal, Numbers A-282-18 and A-283-18, 2021 FCA 52, dated March 11, 2021, is dismissed with costs.

Office of Privacy Commissioner of Canada

• Statement before the Special Committee to review BC’s Personal Information Protection Act
• Privacy and COVID-19 Vaccine Passports
• From state surveillance to surveillance capitalism: The evolution of privacy and the case for law reform

Copyright Board of Canada

• Re:Sound Tariff 3.B – Background Music (2016-2020) Reasons, October 1, 2021; Tariff, October 2, 2021

Microsoft 

• Russian cyberattacks pose greater risk to governments and other insights from our annual report

Instagram 

• How to Tag Products on Instagram to Help Attract More Customers

CRTC

News Releases:

• Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2021-339
  [2021-10-08 11:00:00]
  Abram Zacharias, on behalf of a not-for-profit corporation to be incorporated – La Crête, Alberta – Application for a new broadcasting licence to operate a low-power, ethnic specialty commercial FM radio station in La Crête

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. The House is adjourned until Monday, January 25, 2021 at 11:00 am (EST)

CRTC 

Open Proceedings

• CRTC Open Broadcasting Proceedings
• CRTC Open Telecom Proceedings

Anticipated releases for the week of October 11-15, 2021

• The CRTC is not planning on issuing any decisions, regulatory policies and reports in the week of 11 to 15 October 2021. This is subject to change without notice.

Open Public Consultations: 

• Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada:
  • Consultation on New Access Licensing Framework, Changes to Subordinate Licensing and White Space to Support Rural and Remote Deployment (October 12, 2021)
  • Consultation on Updates to the Licensing and Fee Framework for Earth Stations and Space Stations in Canada (reply comments due November 8, 2021)