Newsletter: October 19, 2021

Weekly News (October 19th, 2021)

Compiled by Boxi Chen, Fizza, Kulvi, Meaghan Wester, and Nick Gertler with Sara Bannerman, Fenwick McKelvey, Guillaume Dandurand, Marek Blottière, and Kevin MorinMcMaster University, Communications Governance Observatory

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

(October 13-18, 2021)

Canadian News 

·         [COPYRIGHT] City of Vernon transfers copyright to legendary Ogopogo to B.C. Indigenous nations (Globe & Mail)

·         [COMPETITION] Competition Bureau conducting new probe of Google over advertising dominance in Canada (National Post)

·         [PLATFORM REGULATION] Le NPD veut un organisme indépendant de réglementation pour les médias sociaux (Le Devoir)

·         [PLATFORM REGULATION] Trudeau says Canada will make special envoy on antisemitism a permanent post (Globe & Mail)

·         [PRIVACY] More than just your name on vaccine QR codes (Toronto Star)

·         [ALGORITHM] Why spending time on Facebook and Instagram is bad for your mental state – and your finances (Toronto Star)

·         [PRIVACY] OPINION: Simeu: The COVID-19 pandemic has made us reliant on digital technologies, eroding our privacy (The Conversation)

·         [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] OPINION: Chris Selley: Conservatives still need to stop the Liberals’ anti-internet agenda (National Post)

·         [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] OPINION: NP View: An Alberta court’s wrongheaded order to compel anti-vaxxers to refute their own opinions (National Post)

·         [PRIVACY] OPINION: Bein: I grew up on social media – and we have the power to make it better (Globe & Mail)

·         [HATE SPEECH/ PLATFORM REGULATION] OPINION: Irving & Deegan: Government and Big Tech must tackle online harassment against journalists (Globe & Mail); Le moment est venu d’agir contre le harcèlement en ligne (La Presse)

International News

·         [PRIVACY] Facebook Should Clarify Terms of Service, Irish Privacy Regulator Says (Wall Street Journal)

·         [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] Microsoft Shuts LinkedIn China, Citing ‘Challenging’ Climate (National Post)

·         [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] The days of U.S. tech companies fighting back against authoritarian regimes are long gone (Washington Post)

·         [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] Facebook’s policing of vitriol is even more lackluster outside the US, critics say (The Guardian)

·         [PLATFORM REGULATION] Lawmakers’ latest idea to fix Facebook: Regulate the algorithm. (Washington Post)

·         [PRIVACY] Rising ransomware attacks have the Justice Department’s attention (Washington Post)

·         [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION/CENSORSHIP] In Belarus, a social media post can be a ticket to prison (Washington Post)

·         [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE/ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] Facebook Says AI Will Clean Up the Platform. Its Own Engineers Have Doubts (Wall Street Journal)

·         [PLATFORM REGULATION] How to Fix Facebook, Instagram and Social Media? Change the Defaults (Wall Street Journal)

·         [PRIVACY/SURVEILLANCE] Home quarantine apps spark privacy fears over facial recognition and geolocation technology (The Guardian)

·         [PRIVACY] Covid-19 Precautions Prompt Backlash on College Campuses  (Wall Street Journal)

·         [PRIVACY] Pegasus project consortium awarded EU prize for spyware revelations (The Guardian)

·         [PRIVACY] Cambridge University halts £400m deal with UAE over Pegasus spyware claims  (The Guardian)

·         [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] ‘Insufficient and very defensive’: how Nick Clegg became the fall guy for Facebook’s failures (The Guardian)

·         [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION]  Netflix Fires Employee Who Leaked Information About Dave Chappelle Special (Wall Street Journal)

·         [PLATFORM REGULATION] China’s Robinhoods Could Be Next in Beijing’s Crosshairs (Wall Street Journal)

·         [PRIVACY] Welcome to Britain, the bank scam capital of the world (Reuters)

·         [PRIVACY] OPINION: Olive: Rein in Facebook? Why don’t we dismantle it instead? (Toronto Star)

(October 13-18, 2021)

Supreme Court of Canada

YouTube

Twitter

Amazon

CRTC

News Releases:

  • Broadcasting decision 2021-341[2021-10-15 11:00:00]Canadian Communication Systems Alliance Inc. – Across Canada – Complaint by the CCSA against Bell Media alleging undue preference and disadvantage
  • Telecom decision 2021-340[2021-10-14 11:00:00]CISC Business Process Working Group – Reports and guidelines related to the implementation of a new competitor quality of service regime – Public record: 8621-C12-01/08

Senate of Canada

Canadian House of Commons

CRTC 

Open Proceedings

Anticipated releases for the week of October 13-18, 2021

  • The CRTC is not planning on issuing any decisions, regulatory policies and reports in the week of 18 to 22 October 2021. This is subject to change without notice.

Open Public Consultations: 

Have a suggestion? Email Sara Bannerman at banners@mcmaster.ca
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