News

Weekly Newsletter for September 26, 2023

September 28, 2023September 28, 2023 Ian Steinberg

Weekly News (September 26, 2023)

Compiled by Ian Steinberg with Sara Bannerman

McMaster University, Communications Governance Observatory

(September 20 – September 26, 2023)

Canadian News

[PRIVACY] Canada Post breaking law by gathering info from envelopes (Globe and Mail)
[FREEDOM OF INFORMATION] Alberta rejects requests for data on freedom of information system a second time (Globe and Mail)
[PRIVACY] Surveillance of Indian diplomats in Canada led to allegations around Sikh killing, official says (AP)
[PLATFORM REGULATION] Canada launches UN online news declaration (National Post)
[FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] Rebel News argues lawn signs during election were ‘tongue firmly in cheek’; ‘Guerrilla marketing campaign’ (National Post)
[ONLINE NEWS ACT] Most Canadians view about Online News Act is news should be free, survey suggests (CTV)
[FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] ‘Ground zero of the culture wars’; Demonstrators on both sides of the issue came out in strong numbers for Hamilton rally about gender education (Hamilton Spectator)
[CULTURAL FUNDING] Canadian documentaries soar at TIFF, but new report warns of huge financing challenges (Globe and Mail)
[MEDIA INDUSTRY/LABOUR] TIFF 2023: Hollywood strikes don’t address unique challenges faced by Canadian BIPOC creators (Global News)
[PRIVACY] Opinion: Howard Levitt and Muneeza Sheikh: Babcock incident a reminder that employees’ personal lives should stay that way (National Post)
[FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] Opinion: Julia Malott: I am transgender and I felt welcomed at parents’ rights protest (National Post)

International News

[PLATFORM REGULATION] UK’s new online safety law adds to crackdown on Big Tech companies (Globe and Mail)
[ANTITRUST] DuckDuckGo founder says Google’s phone and manufacturing partnerships thwart competition (AP)
[ANTITRUST] Deals over search on Apple products key to antitrust case (Washington Post)
[CENSORSHIP] GOP legal attacks create a chilling effect on misinformation research (Washington Post)
[ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] Pennsylvania state government will prepare to start using AI in its operations (AP)
[TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY] Billions to Give Rural America Fast Internet May Fall Far Short (New York Times)
[PLATFORM GOVERNANCE/TECH LOBBYING] The Billionaire Keeping TikTok on Phones in the U.S. Financier Jeff Yass made a big bet on the app, and he’s a top donor to lawmakers who support it (Wall Street Journal)
[ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/PRIVACY] Florida prisons turning to AI to monitor calls from inmates (Tampa Bay Times]
[PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] Ethiopian Facebook campaign for migrant workers enables human trafficking, forced labour in Saudia Arabia, advocates say (Globe and Mail)
[FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] Indonesia imprisons a woman for saying a Muslim prayer before eating pork in a TikTok video (AP)
[PLATFORM REGULATION] TikTok Battles Against Bans in Africa — Continent becomes latest front in fight following scrutiny in U.S. and Europe (Wall Street Journal)
[ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/COPYRIGHT] John Grisham, George R.R. Martin and more authors sue OpenAI for copyright infringement (AP)
[MEDIA INDUSTRY/LABOUR] Here is the latest on the tentative deal with the Writers Guild of America (New York TImes)
[ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/MEDIA OWNERSHIP] Amazon investing up to $4B in AI startup (Bloomberg)
[DEFAMATION] Netflix can be sued by ex-Central Park Five prosecutor for defamation(Reuters)
[PRIVACY] 400-Pound N.Y.P.D. Robot Gets Tryout in Times Square Subway Station (New York TImes)
[MEDIA OWNERSHIP] Rupert Murdoch steps down as chairman of Fox, News Corp(Guardian)
[ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/COPYRIGHT] Photo giant Getty took a leading AI image-maker to court. Now it’s also embracing the technology (AP)
[ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] Meta to Push for Younger Users With New AI Chatbot Characters (Wall Street Journal)
[ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] OpenAI unveils DALL-E 3, newest version of its AI image generator. What does this mean for human artists? (Toronto Star)
[ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] Microsoft adding AI across platforms; Updated software will include Office, Windows, Bing (Bloomberg)
[ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] Google brings its Bard to AI battle; Chatbot can mine users’ data in their online accounts (AP)

(September 20 – September 26, 2023)

Canadian Media Fund

CMF Annual Report 2022-2023 Released

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission

Commission Letters
- Secretary General Letter addressed to Helen Kennedy (Egale Canada)

Broadcasting and Telecoms:
- Telecom order 2023-325
  [2023-09-25 11:00:00]
  Broadband Fund – Change request – Northwestel Inc.’s satellite project in Old Crow, Yukon – Public record: 1011-NOC2019-0191
- Broadcasting decision 2023-324
  [2023-09-25 11:00:00]
  Various licensees – Across Canada – Applications to revoke the broadcasting licences issued for the discretionary services VRAK and ESPN Classic
- Broadcasting decision 2023-323
  [2023-09-22 11:00:00]
  11733630 Canada Inc. – Saint-Raymond-de-Portneuf, Québec – Application to amend the broadcasting licence for the French-language commercial radio station CHOC-FM Saint-Raymond-de-Portneuf in order to operate a new transmitter in Neuville
- Broadcasting decision 2023-322
  [2023-09-20 11:00:00]
  Canadian Broadcasting Corporation – Application to amend conditions of service 59 to 62 regarding consultations with Indigenous Peoples, set out in Appendix 3 to Canadian Broadcasting Corporation – Various audio and audiovisual services – Licence renewals, Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2022-165
- Broadcasting decision 2023-321
  [2023-09-20 11:00:00]
  Radio Boréale – Amos and Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec – Application to operate an FM transmitter in Rouyn-Noranda to rebroadcast the programming of the French-language community radio station CHOW-FM Amos
- Broadcasting decision 2023-320
  [2023-09-20 11:00:00]
  Radio Boréale – Amos and La Sarre, Quebec – Application to operate an FM transmitter in La Sarre to rebroadcast the programming of the French-language community radio station CHOW-FM Amos