Weekly News (October 25th, 2021)

Compiled by Brad McNeil, Kyle Wyndham-West, and Beatrice Sunderland, with Sara Bannerman  and Fenwick McKelvey

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.

(October 19 – October 25, 2021)

Canadian News 

• [ONLINE NEWS ACT] Facebook warns it could block Canadians’ access to news over Ottawa’s online news bill (Globe and Mail) 
• [ONLINE NEWS ACT] Ottawa open to tweaking online news bill, as Google reveals what it wants to see changed (Toronto Star) 
• [ONLINE NEWS ACT] Diffusion de nouvelles: Ottawa a raison de vouloir faire payer les GAFAM, juge PKP (Journal de Montréal)
• [ONLINE NEWS ACT] Heritage minister says he’s open to amendments as Meta slams online news bill  (National Post)
• [ONLINE NEWS ACT/C-18] Google critiqué pour un sondage trompeur sur le financement des médias (Le Devoir)
• [ONLINE STREAMING ACT] What defines a Canadian film? Makeup, special effects and set design crew should count, Parliament told (Globe and Mail)
• [ONLINE NEWS ACT/FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] An attack on free speech or a lifeline for Canadian culture? (Toronto Star) 
• [ONLINE NEWS ACT] Online news bill C-18 would pump most funds into CBC and other broadcasters – not newspapers (Globe and Mail) 
• [ONLINE HARMS/FACEBOOK WHISTLEBLOWER] Would the ‘Freedom Convoy’ have been different if Ottawa had an online harms law? A Facebook whistleblower says yes (Toronto Star) 
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY] Encore des choses à clarifier pour Québecor et Cogeco (La Presse)
• [TELECOM POLICY] CRTC decision paves way for cheaper cellphone bills (National Post)
• [ACCESS TO INFORMATION] Federal body a bottleneck to access to information, House of Commons inquiry told (Globe and Mail) 
• [ACCESS TO INFORMATION] 80 years to unseal RCMP files: What one researcher’s death says about Canada’s access-to-information system (Globe and Mail) 
• [ACCESS TO INFORMATION/FREEDOM CONVOY] Mendicino ‘concerned’ RCMP withheld badge numbers of officers who cleared Ambassador Bridge protest (Globe and Mail) 
• [HATE SPEECH] One-year sentence for Saskatchewan man convicted of hate speech against Jews (Toronto Star)
• [TELECOM/COMPETITION] A year into his tenure, Rogers CEO Tony Staffieri searches for answers in unlikely places (Globe and Mail) 
• [PRIVACY] Opinion: Privacy is central to human well-being, democracy, and a vibrant economy. So why won’t the Trudeau government take it seriously? (Globe and Mail)
• [PRIVACY/ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] Opinion: Data rights will not save democracy (Globe and Mail)
• [ONLINE STREAMING BILL] Opinion: enate should kill online censorship bill  (Financial Post)  
• [PRIVACY/ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] Opinion: Can we trust organizations with our facial images? (Sasktoday)
• [PRIVACY]  Opinion: Jamie Sarkonak: Don’t expect accountability for pandemic cellphone tracking  (National Post) 

International News

• [ONLINE HARMS] Porn sites are not doing enough to protect children, warns Ofcom (The Guardian)
• [CENSORSHIP/DISINFORMATION] Cyber officials may have to testify about alleged social media collusion ; Two GOP attorneys general are bringing the case. (Washington Post) 
• [PRIVACY] Lawsuit claims Google knew its ‘Incognito mode’ doesn’t protect users’ privacy; What did Google know and when did it know it?  (Washington Post)
• [PRIVACY] Texas Sues Google for Collecting Biometric Data Without Consent (New York Times)
• [DISINFORMATION/BRAZIL] To Fight Lies, Brazil Gives One Man Power Over Online Speech (New York Times) 
• [CENSORSHIP/TURKEY ELECTION] Election disruptions loom as social media giants likely to resist Turkey’s new law (Reuters) 
• [AMAZON LAWSUIT/COMPETITION LAW] Amazon facing £900m lawsuit for ‘pushing customers to pay more’ (the Guardian)  
• [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE/CONTENT MODERATION]  Meta autorise des publicités ouvertement homophobes (Le Devoir)
• [PRIVACY] How Australia Fell Behind on Data Privacy (New York TImes) 
• [CENSORSHIP/CHINA] For Xi Jinping, China’s greatest innovation has been controlling the internet. (New York Times) 
• [PRIVACY] FTC brings action against CEO of alcohol delivery company over data breach  (Washington Post)
• [PRIVACY/ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] Business racing to use facial recognition technology, raising concerns the law is too slow to catch up (The Guardian) 
• [PERSONAL INFORMATION/GOOGLE] She clicked sign-in with Google. Strangers got access to all her files.  (Washington Post) 
• [TWITTER OWNERSHIP/CONTENT MODERATION] Elon Musk’s Twitter Takeover Seen Swelling the Company’s Debt (Wall Street Journal)
• [HATE SPEECH] Adidas ends massive deal with Kanye West after antisemitism controversy  (Washington Post)
• [TWITTER] Documents detail plans to gut Twitter’s workforce  (Washington Post) 
• [CENSORSHIP/FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] Opinion: Brazil’s Left Tries to Gag Political Speech (Wall Street Journal)

(October 19 – October 25,  2021)

Federal Court of Canada

• Rovi Guides, Inc. v. BCE Inc. – 2022 FC 1388

Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada 

•  Benefits of digital ID ecosystem will be realized only with adequate privacy protections, say data protection authorities

CRTC

• Ian Scott to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage

Senate of Canada

• Planned & Possible sitting days this week: The Senate sits from October 24 – October 28, 2022. 
  • TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATIONS 
    • October 25, 2022 9:00 AM ET The subject matter of Bill C-11, An Act to amend the Broadcasting Act and to make related and consequential amendments to other Acts
    • October 26, 2022 6:45 PM ET The subject matter of Bill C-11, An Act to amend the Broadcasting Act and to make related and consequential amendments to other Acts

Canadian House of Commons

• Planned & Possible sitting days this week: The House of Commons sits from October 24- October 28, 2022. 

CRTC 

• Anticipated releases for the week of 24 to 28 October 2022
  • The CRTC is not planning on issuing any decisions, regulatory policies and reports in the week of 24 to 28 October 2022. This is subject to change without notice.

Open Proceedings

• CRTC Open Broadcasting Proceedings
• CRTC Open Telecom Proceedings

Public Consultations: 

• CRTC:
  • Canadians invited to share their views on application to raise basic TV package rate (October 28, 2022)
  • Application to add Natyf TV and Uvagut TV to basic television packages (September 21, 2022-November 7, 2022)
• Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada:
  • Consultation on Updates to the Licensing and Fee Framework for Earth Stations and Space Stations in Canada (reply comments due November 8, 2021)

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

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