Weekly News (March 15, 2022)

Compiled by Kyle Wyndham-West, Bradley McNeil, Fizza Kulvi, Meaghan Wester, and Nick Gertler with 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.

(March 8- March 14, 2022)

Canadian News 

• [INFORMATION WARFARE] Military official says NATO trying to counter Russian propaganda (The Globe and Mail)
• [BROADCAST POLICY; HATE SPEECH] Russian propaganda stations stoke hate, critics say (The Star)
• [PUBLIC BROADCASTING] Suspension de ses reportages en Russie: Radio-Canada maintient sa décision (La Presse)
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS/COMPETITION POLICY] Sans fil: Le fondateur de Freedom Mobile intéressé à racheter les actifs (La Presse)
• [PUBLIC BROADCASTING] Radio-Canada dans la mire des conservateurs (Le Devoir)

·         [CULTURAL FUNDING] Federal department gave money to magazine publishing pandemic misinformation (CBC)

• [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] Ontario MPP Randy Hillier ‘permanently suspended’ from Twitter (The Star)
• [CYBERSECURITY] Service canadien du renseignement de sécurité: Le cyberespace augmente la vulnérabilité des secrets canadiens (La Presse)
• [FREEDOM OF INFORMATION] Here’s what citizens are FOI-ing (The Hamilton Spectator)
• [TELECOM POLICY] OPINION:TRICHUR Ottawa sending mixed messages about wireless competition as it mulls Rogers-Shaw deal (The Globe and Mail)

International News

• [CYBER SECURITY] The secret US mission to bolster Ukraine’s cyber defences ahead of Russia’s invasion (The Financial Times)
• [INTERNET CENSORSHIP] War censorship exposes Putin’s leaky internet controls (CTV News)
• [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] The war in Ukraine highlights the limits of Facebook’s oversight board (The Washington Post)
• [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] Humanitarian groups feeling the impact of digital ad halts in Russia, Ukraine (The Washington Post)
• [TECHNOLOGIES] Chinese smartphone shipments to Russia plunge as rouble collapses (The Financial Times)
• [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] TikTok restricts service in Russia and Netflix stops streaming (The Guardian)
• [DISINFORMATION] China pushes Russian disinformation about Ukraine, setting stage for possible chemical attack (The Globe and Mail)
• [SCHOOL CENSORSHIP] Florida legislature passes bill to restrict LGBTQ topics in elementary schools (The Washington Post)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION] Amid industry pressure, tech companies are starting to rally behind kids’ safety bills (The Washington Post)
• [CYBER SECURITY] OPINION: HAKMEH & NAYLOR How the tech community has rallied to Ukraine’s cyber-defence (The Guardian)

(March 8- March 14, 2022)

Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

·         OPC updates its information-sharing agreement with the Dutch data protection authority

Google Blog

·         Building data portability to help consumers choose

CRTC

News Releases:

·         Broadcasting notice of consultation 2022-62-1
[2022-03-09 11:00:00]
Notice of hearing 12 May 2022 – Gatineau, Quebec – Amendment to item 2

·         Telecom notice of consultation 2022-65
[2022-03-08 11:00:00]
Call for comments – Funding next-generation 9-1-1 access services through the National Contribution Fund – Public record: 1011-NOC2022-0065

·         Telecom order 2022-64
[2022-03-08 11:00:00]
Streamlined order – The Commission approves on a final basis the following tariff application: Northwestel Inc., TN 1148

·         Telecom notice of consultation 2022-63
[2022-03-07 11:00:00]
Show cause proceeding and call for comments – A telecommunications service provider that has failed to become a participant in the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services Inc. – Public record: 1011-NOC2022-0063

·         Broadcasting notice of consultation 2022-62
[2022-03-07 11:00:00]
Notice of hearing – 12 May 2022 – Gatineau, Quebec – Deadline for submission of interventions/comments/answers: 7 April 2022

Senate of Canada

·         Planned & Possible sitting days this week: The Senate sits March 21. 

Canadian House of Commons

·         Planned & Possible sitting days this week: The House is adjourned until Monday, March 21, 2022

• Invocation of the Emergencies Act and related measures: March 17, 2022 2:30-5:30 pm; witnesses: 
  • Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association: Flavio Volpe, President
  • Canadian Credit Union Association: Martha Durdin, President and Chief Executive Officer; Michael Hatch, Vice-President, Government Relations
  • GoFundMe: Juan Benitez, President; Kim Wilford, General Counsel

CRTC

Anticipated releases for the week of 14 to 18 March 2022

The CRTC plans to issue the following decisions and/or regulatory policies in the week of 14 to 18 March 2022. This is subject to change without notice.

Broadcasting Decisions:

·         Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
CBRC-FM Harvie Heights – Technical changes
Public record: 2021-0839-9 

·         Pattison Media Ltd.
CJFC-TV Kamloops, CKPG-TV and CHAT-TV Medicine Hat – Licence amendments
Public records: 2021-0662-0, 2021-0671-5 and 2021-0670-8 

Open Proceedings

·         CRTC Open Broadcasting Proceedings

·         CRTC Open Telecom Proceedings