Newsletter: October 5, 2021

Weekly News (October 5th, 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

(September 28-October 4, 2021)

Canadian News 

• [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] ‘The system is broken’: Toronto loses bid at Supreme Court of Canada to overturn Doug Ford’s decision to cut city council (Toronto Star)
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY] Federal cabinet will rule soon on whether to ban Huawei from 5G  (Globe & Mail)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION]  Liberals’ Parliamentary agenda lists three internet regulation bills as early priorities (Globe & Mail)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION] Ditch ‘fundamentally flawed’ online harms bill, experts say in submissions to Heritage Canada (National Post) 
• [PLATFORM REGULATION/ PRIVACY] Protection des données: La négligence des entreprises ne sera plus tolérée, prévient Québec (LaPresse)
• [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] Strippers’ challenge of Ontario pandemic measures to be heard in court(National Post)
• [COMPETITION] Recherche en ligne: demande d’action collective contre Google et Apple (Le Devoir)
• [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] They were charged over a Toronto homeless clearance. They say police asked them to sign away their right to protest (Toronto Star)
• [PUBLIC BROADCASTING] The country needs CBC to be better.’ Peter Mansbridge talks to Kim Brunhuber on his new memoir (Globe & Mail)
• [PRIVACY] Provinces differ on advice to businesses about saving customers’ COVID-19 vaccination status(Globe & Mail)
• [TELECOM POLICY] Figures show frequent phone-number fraud in Canada in 2019, 2020 (Globe & Mail)
• [PRIVACY/CYBERSECURITY] La fuite chez Desjardins a profité aux fraudeurs de la PCU (Journal de Montréal)
• [MEDIA GOVERNANCE] Une norme ISO en partie montréalaise pour l’IA (Le Devoir)
• [PRIVACY] Lawyers for estate of Barry and Honey Sherman warned of ‘violence’ and ‘kidnapping’ if files made public, but unsealed documents show they had no evidence (Toronto Star)
• [PRIVACY] Lawyer says workplace COVID-19 vaccination policies ‘a good idea’(Toronto Star) 
• [PRIVACY] ‘Vaxxed or not vaxxed you are all welcome’: Hundreds of Ontario businesses defy vaccine passport rules (Toronto Star)
• [PRIVACY] Pandemic precautions made QR codes popular again, but privacy concerns remain (Toronto Star) 

International News

• [PLATFORM REGULATION/BILATERAL] Will the U.S. follow the E.U. playbook to crack down on Silicon Valley giants? (Washington Post) [PLATFORM REGULATION] Congress grills Facebook exec on Instagram’s harmful effect on children (The Guardian)
• [PRIVACY/PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] Former Facebook employee Frances Haugen revealed as ‘whistleblower’ behind leaked documents that plunged the company into scandal (Washington Post)
• [DEFAMATION] ‘First domino to fall’: CNN pulls Facebook pages in Australia over defamation risk (National Post)
• [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] Facebook hits pause on Instagram Kids app amid growing scrutiny(Washington Post)
• [PRIVACY/ PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] Apple’s iPhone privacy changes signal desire to enter advertising (Reuters)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION/ANONYMITY/CENSORSHIP] ‘Paranoid’ China tightens Internet controls even more after Communists embarrassed by online reports (National Post) 
• [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] Don’t say ‘Taliban’: Facebook suppresses Afghan activists and artists leading the resistance (Toronto Star)
• [PRESS FREEDOM] Hong Kong journalists seek new ways to work effectively amid a government crackdown (Globe & Mail)
• [CENSORSHIP] Tiananmen website is blocked in Hong Kong as Internet Curbs Widen (Washington Post)
• [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] YouTube to Remove Videos Containing Vaccine Misinformation (Wall Street Journal)
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY] FCC Moves to Fight Robocalls From Overseas (Wall Street Journal)
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY] 74% of Americans think Huawei should be removed from U.S., poll shows (Fox News)
• [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE/REGULATION] Google, in fight against record EU fine, slams regulators for ignoring Apple (Reuters)
• [CENSORSHIP] 14 Cuts in 25 Minutes: How Hong Kong Censors Movies (New York Times)
• [PRIVACY PROTECTION] How to stop Google from tracking what you type, watch or say (USA Today)
• [COMPETITION] OPINION: Fowler: How Big Tech monopoly made smart speakers dumber(Washington Post)
• [COMPETITION] OPINION: Weinstein: I Changed My Mind—Facebook Is a Monopoly (Wall Street Journal)

(September 28-October 4, 2021)

Supreme Court of Canada

• [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] Toronto (City) v. Ontario (Attorney General), 2021 SCC 34
• OTTAWA – The Supreme Court of Canada has today deposited with the Registrar judgments in the following leave applications:
  • [TRADEMARK] Travelway Group International Inc. v. Group III International Ltd., Holiday Group Limited and Wenger S.A. (F.C.) (Civil) (By Leave) (39576): The application for leave to appeal from the judgment of the Federal Court of Appeal, Number A-356-19, 2020 FCA 210, dated December 9, 2020 is dismissed with costs.

Competition Bureau

• Competition Bureau seeks information from market participants to advance investigation of Rogers’ proposed acquisition of Shaw

Privacy Commissioner

• Building Back Better Requires Strong, Effective Regulation of Digital World

Copyright Board of Canada

• SOCAN Tariff 9 − Sports Events (2018-2023): Reasons, October 1, 2021; Tariff, October 2, 2021

Google

• Strengthening the transatlantic digital space

YouTube

• Managing harmful vaccine content on YouTube

Microsoft

• Microsoft Tech for Social Impact announces its updated cloud-first grant program
• Microsoft supports strong climate and clean energy provisions in US budget reconciliation and infrastructure bills and encourages Congress to take bold action
• The next chapter of cyber diplomacy at the United Nations beckons

Amazon

• Amazon Studios and Howard University launch entertainment program for third year
• Amazon reaches settlement with influencers who ran social media counterfeiting scheme

Supreme Court of Canada

• October 4, 2021: OTTAWA – The Supreme Court of Canada announced today that judgment in the following leave applications will be delivered at 9:45 a.m. EDT on Thursday, October 7, 2021. This list is subject to change.

• • [PRIVACY / SEARCH & SEIZURE] Christopher Gero v. Her Majesty the Queen (Ont.) (Criminal) (By Leave) (39665)
  • [INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY / OBVIOUSNESS] Apotex Inc. v. Shire LLC, et al. (F.C.) (Civil) (By Leave) (39662)

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. 

CRTC 

Open Proceedings

• CRTC Open Broadcasting Proceedings
• CRTC Open Telecom Proceedings

Anticipated releases for the week of December 21-22, 2020

• The CRTC is not planning on issuing any decisions, regulatory policies and reports in the week of 4 to 8 October 2021. This is subject to change without notice.

Public Consultations: 

• Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada:

• • Consultation on Amending Cellular and Personal Communications Services (PCS) Licence Conditions (July 30 – September 28, 2021)
  • 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)
• Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission: Discussion Paper DIS-21-03, Cyber Security and the Protection of Digital Information (July 7 – Oct 7, 2021)