Weekly Newsletter: March 15, 2022

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

(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