Weekly Newsletter for October 11, 2023

Weekly News (October 11, 2023)

Compiled by Ian Steinberg with Sara Bannerman

McMaster University, Communications Governance Observatory

(October 4 – 10, 2023)

Canadian News 

• [PUBLICATION BANS] Supreme Court rules publication bans in pre-trial are automatic and required (Globe and Mail)
• [PRIVACY] Supreme Court of Canada session to hear arguments on secret trials, FN land dispute (Globe and Mail)
• [ONLINE STREAMING ACT] Confusing claims about the online streaming law abound. How does it really work? (Toronto Star)
• [ONLINE NEWS ACT] Google just got even more unhappy with the Trudeau government — and closer to wiping Canadian news from its search results (Toronto Star)
• [ONLINE NEWS ACT] Online News Act not perfect but necessary, Heritage Minister says (Globe and Mail)
• [ONLINE STREAMING ACT] The CRTC’s latest regulatory decision is sending a chill through the Canadian podcast world (Globe and Mail)
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/COPYRIGHT] Unclear how Canadian copyright law applies to generative AI: government document (National Post)
• [FREEDOM OF INFORMATION] ‘We’re ashamed’: Canada’s information watchdogs sign joint pact, urging governments to fix FOI systems (Globe and Mail)
• [DISINFORMATION] Canada-India dispute likely target for disinformation efforts, State Department warns (Toronto Star)
• [TECH PROCUREMENT / ARRIVECAN] RCMP probes alleged misconduct in outsourced CBSA contract (Globe and Mail)
• [PRIVACY] Guilty plea in two 40-year-old murders hinged on genetic genealogy (Globe and Mail)
• [PRIVACY] Opinion: René Sylvain & Will Christodoulou: Quebec’s new Law 25 is the toughest privacy legislation in Canada. Here’s why it matters. (Toronto Star)
• [ONLINE NEWS ACT] Opinion: Andrew Coyne: The government dug a deep hole for itself with Bills C-11 and C-18. And it’s only digging deeper (Globe and Mail)
• [COMPETITION ACT] Opinion: Michael Osbourne: The good, the bad and the useless of Bill C-56 (Globe and Mail)

International News

• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] EU sees ‘convergence’ with Japan on AI – official (Reuters)
• [DEFAMATION] US Supreme Court turns away challenge to media defamation protections (Reuters)
• [DEFAMATION] Clarence Thomas Renews Call for Reconsideration of Landmark Libel Ruling (New York TImes)
• [PRIVACY] UK data watchdog issues Snapchat enforcement notice over AI chatbot(Guardian) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/PLATFORM REGULATION] German antitrust head warns AI may boost Big Tech’s dominance (Reuters)
• [CONTENT MODERATION / PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] Appeals court limits cyberdefense agency’s contacts with tech companies (Washington Post)
• [CONTENT MODERATION / ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE / PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] Meta and X questioned by lawmakers over lack of rules against AI-generated political deepfakes (AP)
• [CONTENT MODERATION / PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] Facebook video of Biden prompts probe into Meta content policy (Financial Times)
• [ANTITRUST/PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] DuckDuckGo CEO says Google’s billions got in the way of a deal with Apple (Reuters)
• [CONTENT MODERATION / PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] Violent, graphic imagery is flooding social media platforms. (New York Times)
• [PRIVACY/ELECTIONS] Voter rolls are becoming the new battleground over secure elections as amateur sleuths hunt fraud (AP)
• [HATE SPEECH] The ‘high tide of American antisemitism’ makes Israel attacks foreboding (Washington Post)
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] Big Tech Struggles to Turn AI Hype Into Profits (Wall Street Journal)
• [TELECOM] Amazon launches first two satellites in planned orbital internet service(Guardian)
• [MISINFORMATION] Alexa says the 2020 election was stolen. What does it mean for 2024? (Washington Post)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION] S.E.C. Sues Elon Musk to Compel Him to Testify on Twitter Purchase (New York Times)
• [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] X removes article headlines in latest platform update, widening a rift with news media (AP)
• [PRIVACY] Permission Slip lets you delete your digital history from dozens of companies (Washington Post)

(October 4 – 10, 2023)

Supreme Court of Canada

• [PUBLICATION BANS] La Presse inc. v. Quebec, 2023 SCC 22

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission 

• News Releases
  • Vicky Eatrides to the C.D. Howe Institute (Speech)
  • Vicky Eatrides to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Speech)

• Broadcasting and Telecoms:
  • Telecom order 2023-334
    [2023-10-05 11:00:00]
    Bell Canada – Tariff Notices 7674 and 7674A – Disaggregated Broadband Service – Public records: Tariff Notices 7674 and 7674A 
  • Broadcasting decision 2023-333
    [2023-10-04 11:00:00]
    Radio Blanc-Sablon inc. – Lourdes-de-Blanc-Sablon, Quebec – Application to amend the broadcasting licence for the English- and French-language community radio station CFBS-FM Lourdes-de-Blanc-Sablon in order to operate a new transmitter in L’Anse-au-Clair, Newfoundland and Labrador, to rebroadcast the programming of CFBS-FM

Competition Bureau

• A whole-of-government approach to promoting competition

Federal Court of Appeal

• China Mobile Communications Group Co., Ltd. v. Canada (Attorney General)

Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada

• Federal, Provincial, and Territorial Information Regulators Unite in Resolution to Enhance Access to Government Information

Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

• 2022-23 ATIP Annual Reports tabled in Parliament
• Canadian privacy regulators pass resolutions on the privacy of young people and workplace privacy
• OPC posts submission to government’s consultation on strengthening Canada’s anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing regime

Amazon

• Amazon is expanding its free in-person tours at fulfillment centers worldwide
• Everything you need to know about Project Kuiper, Amazon’s satellite broadband network
• How AWS Partners are advancing generative AI for government, health care, and other public sector organizations

Google

• Update on Sonos’ misleading patent campaign

Meta

• Feedback Is a Gift: How We Collaborate to Build Privacy-First Experiences

Microsoft

• Espionage fuels global cyberattacks
• ​Advancing AI governance in Japan

TikTok

• Effortlessly share to TikTok with Direct Post: Seamless integrations with Adobe and a range of partners

Senate of Canada

• The Senate is not sitting: October 9 to 13 , 2023

House of Commons

• The House of Commons is not sitting:  October 9 to 13, 2023

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission

• Anticipated releases for the week of 3 to 6 October 2023: 
  • Broadcasting Decisions: Applications by various licensees to renew the broadcasting licences for television stations 
  • Telecom Decision: CRTC Interconnection Steering Committee Emergency Services Working Group – Consensus report – Updates to the wireless location accuracy benchmarks Public record: 8669-C12-01/01
• Upcoming Hearings
  • November 20, 2023 – Gatineau, Quebec

To consider the broadcasting applications listed in Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2023-138,  2023-138-1

• Contributions to the Canadian broadcasting system 
  • We are examining what contributions traditional broadcasters and online services need to make to support Canadian and Indigenous content.

Public hearing: November 20 to December 8, 2023.

Read the agenda

View hearing documents (2023-138)

• CRTC Open Broadcasting Proceedings

• CRTC Open Telecom Proceedings

Supreme Court of Canada  

• The Supreme Court of Canada will hear the following appeals in October. Most hearings start at 9:30 a.m. ET. As the agenda is subject to change, please consult the hearing schedule for dates and times.
  • [PRIVACY] York Region District School Board v. Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (Ont.) (Civil) (By Leave) (40360) 2023-10-18
  • [PUBLICATION BANS] Canadian Broadcasting Corporation v. His Majesty the King, et al. (Man.) (Civil) (By Leave) (38992) 2023-10-19

Consultations:

CRTC

·         Telecom

o    Review of video relay service – Final submissions 19 Oct 2023

o    Review of the wholesale high-speed access service framework – intervention deadline for parties only – 16 October 2023

o    Others

·         Upcoming hearings

o    The Path Forward  – November 20, 2023

o    Others

Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat:

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

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

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