Weekly News (September 6, 2023)

Compiled by Brad McNeil and Manveetha Muddaluru with Sara Bannerman

McMaster University, Communications Governance Observatory

(August 29 – September 5, 2023)

Canadian News 

• [PLATFORM REGULATION] Facebook class action in Quebec can go ahead after Supreme Court declines to hear appeal (Globe and Mail)
• [ONLINE NEWS ACT] Ottawa puts price on what it wants Meta and Google to share with Canadian news publishers (National Post)
• [ONLINE NEWS ACT] Meta says Ottawa’s C-18 regulations aren’t enough to stop it blocking access to news (Globe and Mail)
• [MEDIA OWNERSHIP/TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY] Merger court awards Rogers millions over Competition Bureau’s attempt to block Shaw merger (Globe and Mail) 
• [FREEDOM OF SPEECH] Trial for Ottawa trucker convoy’s key organizers not about their political views, Crown says (Globe and Mail)
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS] Canada’s emergency alerts are being used more often, but their funding model is shrinking (Globe and Mail)
• [CYBERSECURITY] Cybercriminals in Russia and Iran will threaten Canada’s security and economic prosperity, say intelligence agency and RCMP (Globe and Mail)
• [BROADCASTING POLICY/ONLINE STREAMING ACT] The great Bill C-11 television revolution that no streaming service wants to talk about (Globe and Mail)
• [INDUSTRY] Rogers countersues former CEO Joe Natale, seeks severance repayment (Globe and Mail)
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY] Rogers in court seeking to charge higher network rates to Quebecor months after Shaw takeover (National Post)
• [INDUSTRY/TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY] Bell and Telus slam Rogers for launching wireless service on TTC before federal consultations complete (Toronto Star)
• [DATA PRIVACY] Tech bros vs. city bureaucrats: Toronto’s Sidewalk Labs battle comes to the stage (Toronto Star)
• [PRIVACY] Hamilton Health Sciences employees terminated after privacy breach (Global News)
• [PRIVACY] NB Power program offers municipalities streetlight cameras (Penticton Herald)
• [INTERNET POLICY] Internet could reach elusive areas (Penticton Herald)
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] Lower fees, fewer lawyers and disruptive startups: Legal sector braces for impact from ChatGPT (Globe and Mail) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] School boards grappling with AI use in classroom, but formal policies still elusive (Globe and Mail)
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] Roughly 60% of Canadian students think using AI for school work constitutes cheating, new study finds (Toronto Star)
• [MISINFORMATION] They’ve grown up online. So why are our kids not better at detecting misinformation? (Toronto Star)
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS] OPINION: Matt Malone: Internal CRTC files show poor probe of Rogers outage – it deserves its own scrutiny (Globe and Mail)
• [INDUSTRY] OPINION: Nicole Cohen: TVO strike highlights the scourge of contract work in public service journalism (The Conversation)
• [COMPETITION] OPINION: Ira Wells: The monopoly in Canada’s blood: How we learned to stop worrying and love big business (Globe and Mail)
• [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] OPINION: Conrad Black: Canadians must stand behind Jordan Peterson’s fight for free expression (National Post)
• [MEDIA OWNERSHIP/TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY] OPINION: Andrew Willis: Competition Bureau needs to move back to real world after Rogers fiasco (Globe and Mail)
• [INTERNET/BROADCASTING POLICY] OPINION: Peter Menzies With its new focus on the internet, the CRTC has abandoned broadcasting (Globe and Mail)

International News

• [FREEDOM OF SPEECH] A Crackdown on Free Speech in One of the Freer Corners of the Mideast (New York Times)
• [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION/CENSORSHIP] Meta rejects own board’s call to suspend account of Cambodian strongman (Washington Post)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION] Judge blocks Arkansas law requiring parental OK for minors to create social media accounts (AP News)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION] Meta May Allow Instagram and Facebook Users in Europe to Pay to Avoid Ads (New York Times)
• [DATA PRIVACY] TikTok’s Irish data center up and running as European privacy project gets under way (CTV News)
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] ChatGPT breaks its own rules on political messages (Washington Post)
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] Visual artists fight back against AI companies for repurposing their work (AP News)
• [DEFAMATION/CENSORSHIP] Thammakaset: Thai poultry farmer loses his 36th defamation suit (BBC News)
• [INTERNET POLICY] The $53,000 Connection: The High Cost of High-Speed Internet for Everyone (Wall Street Journal) 
• [PRIVACY] New York police will use drones to monitor backyard parties this weekend, spurring privacy concerns (AP News)
• [FREEDOM OF THE PRESS] Kansas newspaper’s lawyer says police didn’t follow warrant in last month’s newsroom search (AP News)
• [CENSORSHIP] Conservative book ban push fuels library exodus from national association that stands up for books (AP News)
• [DEFAMATION] Judge holds Giuliani liable in Georgia election workers’ defamation case for withholding information (AP News)
• [DATA PRIVACY] Lawsuit accuses University of Minnesota of not doing enough to prevent data breach (AP News)
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] The Guardian blocks ChatGPT owner OpenAI from trawling its content (The Guardian)
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] OpenAI Launches Business Version of ChatGPT That Competes With Microsoft (Wall Street Journal)
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] AI images are getting harder to spot. Google thinks it has a solution. (Washington Post)
• [PRIVACY] Information theft is on the rise. People are particularly vulnerable after natural disasters (AP News)
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] Behind the AI boom, an army of overseas workers in ‘digital sweatshops’
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] Companies Will Use Generative AI. But Will They Tell You About It? (Wall Street Journal)
• [INTERNET POLICY] The young activists shaking up the kids’ online safety debate (Washington Post)
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/PRIVACY] Voice Deepfakes Are Coming for Your Bank Balance (New York Times)
• [FREEDOM OF THE PRESS] OPINION: James Deane: Britain hasn’t followed through on its promise to champion media freedom (Globe and Mail)

(August 29 – September 5, 2023)

Supreme Court of Canada

• Judgments in Leave Applications:
  • [TARGETED ADVERTISING/CLASS ACTION] Facebook, Inc., et al. v. Lyse Beaulieu (Que.) (Civil) (By Leave) (40620) 
    • The application for leave to appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal of Quebec (Montréal), Number 500-09-029679-214, 2022 QCCA 1736, dated December 22, 2022, is dismissed.

Canadian Heritage

• Government of Canada outlines proposed regulations for the Online News Act 

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

• Government of Canada invests nearly $1.2 million to bring high-speed Internet to over 1,600 households in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia

National Film Board

• Delivering on our equity, diversity and inclusion commitments. By March 31, 2025, over 30% of NFB productions and co-productions in progress will be directed by artists and filmmakers who self-identify as Black and People of Colour. 

CRTC:

• CRTC adds Natyf TV to basic TV package in Quebec 

Broadcasting and Telecoms 

• Broadcasting decision 2023-308
  [2023-09-05 11:00:00]
  Bell Canada; Cogeco Communications Inc.; Bragg Communications Incorporated, carrying on business as Eastlink; and Saskatchewan Telecommunications – Across Canada – Application to increase the maximum retail price of the basic service from $25 to $28 per month and to implement a yearly indexing mechanism for inflation
• Broadcasting order 2023-307
  [2023-09-05 11:00:00]
  Exemption order respecting discretionary television programming undertakings serving fewer than 200,000 subscribers
• Broadcasting regulatory policy 2023-306
  [2023-09-05 11:00:00]
  Standard conditions of service for licensed discretionary services, national news discretionary services and mainstream sports discretionary services, and exemption order for exempt discretionary services – Modifications to the advertising time limit requirement
• Broadcasting decision 2023-305
  [2023-09-01 11:00:00]
  8384827 Canada Inc. – Toronto, Mississauga and North York, Ontario – Applications to amend the broadcasting licence of the English-language commercial radio station CFXJ-FM Toronto

Google 

• Building for compliance with the Digital Markets Act 

Amazon

• Telecom companies can use satellite connectivity from Project Kuiper to extend their service areas, scale for major events, and quickly recover after disasters. 

Meta

• Raising Online Defenses Through Transparency and Collaboration 

X (formerly Twitter):

• Supporting people’s right to accurate and safe political discourse on X 

Microsoft

• Russia’s African coup strategy 

Senate of Canada

• Planned and Possible Sitting Days: The Senate will not sit during the week September 4 to 8, 2023. The Senate is adjourned until September 19, 2023.

House of Commons

• Planned and Possible Sitting Days: the House of Commons will not sit during the week of September 4 to 8, 2023. The House is adjourned until Monday, September 18, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. (EDT). 

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission

• Anticipated releases for the week of 5 to 8 September 2023:
  • Broadcasting Decisions:
    • Applications by various licensees to renew the broadcasting licenses for various radio and TV stations
    • Four Senses Entertainment Inc. Squamish, British Columbia English-language commercial FM radio station in Squamish Public record: 2019-1225-4

• Hearings:
  • September 8, 2022 – Gatineau Quebec – To consider the broadcasting applications listed in Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2022-183, View hearing documents (2022-183)
• CRTC Open Broadcasting Proceedings
  • Call for comments – Proposed new Broadcasting Fees Regulations – Deadline: 22 September 2023
• CRTC Open Telecom Proceedings

Consultations:

CRTC

• Call for comments – Proposed new Broadcasting Fees Regulations – Deadline: 22 September 2023

Canadian Heritage

• Regulations Respecting the Application of the Online News Act, the Duty to Notify and the Request for Exemptions: 30-day consultation – open to October 2, 2023 (Canada Gazette)
• Engagement sessions with Canadian book publishers and book industry stakeholders – Planned: May 30, 2023 to Sept 29, 2023 

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

• Consultation on amendments to the Patent Rules – Planned: Aug 7, 2023 to Sept 8, 2023 
• Development of a Canadian code of practice for generative AI – Open: Aug 4, 2023 to Sept 14, 2023

Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat:

• Creating Canada’s 6th National Action Plan on Open Government – Planned: Sept 1, 2023 to Oct 31, 2023

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