Weekly News (May 30, 2023)

Compiled by Brad McNeil with Sara Bannerman

McMaster University, Communications Governance Observatory

(May 23  – May 29, 2023)

Canadian News 

• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY] Bell CEO warns ‘interventionist’ regulations could lead telcos to curtail investments (Toronto Star) 
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS/COMPETITION] Telecom competition intensifies after Rogers deal, but trend could be short-lived (Globe and Mail) 
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS/COMPETITION] Freedom Mobile unveils first nationwide plan following Rogers-Shaw deal (Toronto Star) 
• [PUBLIC BROADCASTING] Minister reviewing CBC’s mandate with eye to making it less reliant on advertising (Toronto Star) 
• [HATE SPEECH] Hate propaganda spread through neo-Nazi icons and memes (Hamilton Spectator)  
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/PLATFORM REGULATION Canada Needs to Hurry on A.I. Oversight, Experts Warn (New York Times) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/PLATFORM REGULATION] ChatGPT creator OpenAI under scrutiny as provinces join federal privacy probe (Globe and Mail)  
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE REGULATION] Ontario urged to develop ‘guardrails’ on public sector use of AI (Toronto Star) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE REGULATION] AI guru Yoshua Bengio says regulation too slow, warns of ‘existential’ threats (Toronto Star) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/INDUSTRY] Canada’s largest sectors and its workers will be most disrupted by AI, report shows (Globe and Mail)
• [INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY/ELECTIONS] A timeline of China’s alleged interference in recent Canadian elections (Globe and Mail)  
• [CYBERSECURITY/PERSONAL DATA] ‘Foreseeable’ cyberattack on N.L. health network hit majority of province: report (Toronto Star) 
• [CENSORSHIP] OPINION: Marsha Lederman: U.S.-style book bans could happen in Canada too, if we’re not careful (Globe and Mail) 
•  [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/PLATFORM REGULATION] OPINION: Matt Melone: Only a quarter of Canadians trust government to regulate artificial intelligence – no surprise (Globe and Mail) 
• [CULTURAL FUNDING/PUBLIC BROADCASTING] OPINION: Jamie Sarkonak: Liberals bring identity quotas to Canada Media Fund  (National Post) 

International News

• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE REGULATION] G7 officials to hold first meeting on AI regulation next week (Reuters) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/PLATFORM REGULATION] EU, Google to develop voluntary AI pact ahead of new AI rules, EU’s Breton says (Reuters) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/PLATFORM REGULATION] OpenAI embraced regulation— until talks got serious in Europe ; A week after encouraging U.S. regulation, CEO Sam Altman is threatening to leave Europe. (Washington Post) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE REGULATION] Rishi Sunak races to tighten rules for AI amid fears of existential risk (The Guardian) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE REGULATION] A.I. Needs a Watchdog, ChatGPT Creators Say (New York Times) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/PLATFORM REGULATION] Microsoft Calls for Rules To Minimize Risks of A.I. (New York Times) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/MISINFORMATION] Microsoft chief says deep fakes are biggest AI concern (Reuters) 
• [HATE SPEECH] Biden Unveils a National Plan to Fight an Ancient Hatred (New York Times) 
• [DATA PRIVACY] Driver’s Licenses, Addresses, Photos: Inside How TikTok Shares User Data (New York Times) 
• [SURVEILLANCE] ‘Total digital surveillance’: How Russia tracks, censors and controls its citizens (Los Angeles Times) 
• [CENSORSHIP] No laughing matter: China cancels comedy, citing ‘force majeure’  (Washington Post) 
• [PLATFORM REGULATION/PRIVACY] Google is failing to uphold post-Roe privacy pledge, Democrats say (Washington Post) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/MILITARY] An Army command like no other seeks to master the future of war (Washington Post) 
• [CENSORSHIP] A Fla. school restricted poet Amanda Gorman’s book. Here’s what to know.  (Washington Post) 
• [CENSORSHIP/FREE SPEECH] Literature as Defiance in an Era of Nationalism (New York Times) 
• [CONTENT MODERATION/LABOUR] Tech layoffs ravage the teams that fight online misinformation and hate speech (CNBC) 
• [CONTENT MODERATION/LABOUR/LAWSUIT] Moderators Sue Facebook Parent in Kenya — Workers accuse Meta and a contractor of exploitation and unfair termination (Wall Street Journal) 
• [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE/HARMFUL SPEECH] Twitter’s launch of DeSantis’ presidential bid underscores platform’s rightward shift under Musk (CityNews) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] Reid Hoffman Is on a Mission: To Show A.I. Can Improve Humanity (New York Times) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/CYBERSECURITY]Cybersecurity Chiefs Navigate AI Risks and Potential Rewards  (Wall Street Journal) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE REGULATION] OPINION: Wyatt Tessari L’Allié: AI a bigger threat to humanity than climate change or pandemics (Toronto Star)
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE REGULATION] OPINION: Editorial Board: Congress wants to regulate AI. Here’s where to start.  (Washington Post) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] OPINION: David Rosenberg: This AI boom has echoes of the dotcom bubble (Financial Post) 
• [PLATFORM REGULATION] OPINION: Gus Carlson: Which is the bigger threat: TikTok’s Chinese control or Montana’s state overreach? (Globe and Mail) 
• [PLATFORM REGULATION] OPINION: Frances Haugen and Taylor Owen: Don’t ban TikTok. Make it safer (Globe and Mail) 
• [CONTENT MODERATION] OPINION: Editorial Board: Vivek Ramaswamy’s LinkedIn Lockout (Wall Street Journal) 
• [COPYRIGHT/ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] OPINION: Editorial: Protecting creators from AI (Washington Post) 
• [PUBLIC BROADCASTING] OPINION: Matthew Hays: Why the Conservatives should thank the CBC (Globe and Mail) 

(May 23  – May 29, 2023)

Supreme Court of Canada 

• The application for leave to appeal from the judgments of the Court of Appeal for Ontario, Number C70126, 2022 ONCA 766, dated November 10, 2022, and 2022 ONCA 847, dated December 9, 2022, is dismissed: [INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY] Kevin Drizen v. MBM Intellectual Property Law LLP (Ont.) (Civil) (By Leave) (40591)  

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

• Minister Champagne highlights renewed funding for the Digital Technology Cluster while visiting Ideon Technologies Inc.  

Microsoft: 

• How do we best govern AI?

OpenMedia

• Request for more time: Getting C-11 right for Canadians (Open Media) 

Senate of Canada

• Planned and Possible Sitting Days: The Senate will sit from May 30 to June 1, 2023, with a possible sitting day on June 2, 2023.
  • Bills on the agenda: Bill C-288 – An Act to amend the Telecommunications Act (transparent and accurate broadband services information) (at second reading in the Senate 
  • Meetings
    • Transport and Communications: Bill C-18, An Act respecting online communications platforms that make news content available to persons in Canada: May 30, 2023 at 9:00 AM ET 
    • Transport and Communications: Bill C-18, An Act respecting online communications platforms that make news content available to persons in Canada: Wednesday, May 31, 2023 at 6:45 PM ET 

House of Commons

• Planned and Possible Sitting Days: The House of Commons will sit from May 30 to June 2, 2023. The House will also sit on June 5, 2023.
  • Bills on the agenda: 
    • Bill C-244, An Act to amend the Copyright Act (diagnosis, maintenance and repair): At report stage in the House of Commons  
  • Meetings
    • National Defence (NDDN): Cybersecurity and Cyberwarfare: Tuesday May 30, 2023 at 3:30 pm- 5:30pm (EDT)  
    • Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics (ETHI): Access to Information and Privacy Systems: Tuesday May 30 at 3:30 pm – 5:30 pm (EDT)  
    • Industry and Technology (INDU): Blockchain TEchnology: Wednesday May 31 at 4:30 pm – 6:30 pm (EDT)  

CRTC

• Anticipated Releases for the week of May 29 to June 2, 2023:  The CRTC plans to issue the following decisions and/or regulatory policies in the week of 29 May to 2 June 2023. This is subject to change without notice. 
• Broadcasting Decisions:
  • Applications by various licensees to renew the broadcasting licences for various radio stations
• Telecom Decision:
  • Review of the wholesale high-speed access service framework, Telecom Notice of Consultation CRTC 2023-56 – Reduction of traffic-sensitive costs Public record: 1011-NOC2023-0056

Open Proceedings

• CRTC Open Broadcasting Proceedings
• CRTC Open Telecom Proceedings

Public Consultations:

• CRTC
  • Regulatory Plan to modernize Canada’s broadcasting system
  • Planned: Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2023-138: The Path Forward – Working towards a modernized regulatory framework regarding contributions to support Canadian and Indigenous content: Deadline for submission of interventions: 27 June 2023  
  • Open: Broadcasting Notice of Consultation 2023-139: Call for comments – Proposed Regulations for the Registration of Online Streaming Services and Proposed Exemption Order regarding those Regulations (Deadline: June 12, 2023) 
  • Open: Share your comments on the review of the Broadband fund (start date March 23, 2023 to July 21, 2023) 
  • Open: Telecom Notice of Consultation CRTC 2022-325-2:Broadband Fund – Third call for applications – Changes to procedure 
  • Open: Broadcasting Notice of Consultation 2023-140:Call for comments – Review of exemption orders and transition from conditions of exemption to conditions of service for broadcasting online undertakings Deadline: June 12, 2023 

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

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