Weekly Newsletter for October 1, 2024

Weekly News (October 1, 2024)

Compiled by Brad McNeil with Sara Bannerman

McMaster University, Communications Governance Observatory

(September 25- October 1, 2024)

Canadian News

• [FOREIGN INTERFERENCE] European Commission VP taking note of Canada’s foreign-interference inquiry (Globe and Mail) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE REGULATION] One year later, AI code signatories happy with decision but want more company (BNN Bloomberg) 
• [HATE SPEECH] Bill before Parliament would outlaw residential school ‘denialism’ (CBC) 
• [ACCESS TO INFORMATION] Residential school survivors are still fighting for access to records. They can’t heal, until they know  (Toronto Star) 
• [ONLINE STREAMING ACT] Netflix pulls sponsorship of development programs across Canadian arts institutions in wake of C-11 measures (Globe and Mail) 
• [ONLINE STREAMING ACT] Foreign streaming giants launch campaign against Ottawa’s mandatory levy (Globe and Mail) 
• [MEDIA/MISINFORMATION] Staffers out after manipulated clip; Bell says two people ‘no longer’ employed at network days after Poilievre’s office issues blacklist  (Toronto Star) 
• [MEDIA/MISINFORMATION] Pierre Poilievre vows to blacklist CTV journalists after he was misrepresented in broadcast  (Toronto Star) 
• [FOREIGN INTERFERENCE] A ‘handful’ of people barred from House of Commons jobs over foreign influence concerns (Global News) 
• [MEDIA CUTS] Kamloops radio station cuts half of newsroom (Globe and Mail) 
• [HATE SPEECH/FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] 
• [CONTENT MODERATION]  Elon Musk wants users you’ve blocked on X to see your posts. Here’s why  (Toronto Star) 
• [PUBLIC BROADCASTING] How TV can be a tool of truth and reconciliation: It’s not easy but ‘It’s important our stories are heard and people see them’  (Toronto Star) 
• [CENSORSHIP/BOOK BANS] OPINION: Rosie DiManno: Book censorship rising in U.S. – but we have no right to be smug  (Toronto Star) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/ONLINE HARMS] OPINION:Lai-Tze Fan, Ashley Mehlenbacher and Mary Wells: New tech is letting bad actors steal women’s faces — and even their voices. We must do more to prevent it  (Toronto Star) 
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS] OPINION: John Lorinc: Rogers did not buy naming rights for this op-ed  (Toronto Star) 
• [JOURNALISM] OPINION: Shannon Lewis: Local media strengthens connections and safeguards democracy  (Toronto Star) 
• [LOCAL JOURNALISM] OPINION: Editorial Board: The creeping desert eroding local news  (Globe and Mail) 

International News

• [CONTENT MODERATION/ACCESS TO INFORMATION] Russia fines Google, Discord over banned content (Reuters) 
• [PLATFORM REGULATION] Brazil’s top court imposes new fine before allowing X to resume service (Reuters) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE REGULATION] EU picks experts to steer AI compliance rules (Reuters) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/ANTITRUST] Amazon Spared U.K. Antitrust Probe Over $4 Billion Investment in AI Startup Anthropic (Wall Street Journal) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE REGULATION] Malaysia plans national cloud policy, AI regulations (Reuters) 
• [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION/ACCESS TO INFORMATION] Cambodia Arrests Journalist Known for Exposing Scam Centers (New York Times) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE REGULATION] California governor vetoes contentious AI safety bill (Reuters) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE REGULATION] California Forces a Rethink of A.I. Regulation (New York Times) 
• [DATA PRIVACY] California Passes Law Protecting Consumer Brain Data (New York Times) 
• [DATA PRIVACY] California enacts car data privacy law to curb domestic violence (Reuters) 
• [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] Mark Zuckerberg Is Done With Politics (New york Times) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/INDUSTRY] Why is OpenAI planning to become a for-profit business and does it matter?  (The Guardian) 
• [PLATFORM REGULATION] AI companies could be more transparent to help users make informed choices: Meta VP (BNN Bloomberg) 
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS/SATELLITE SERVICE MERGER] Satellite service DirecTV buys rival Dish as it fights the onslaught of streaming services (Globe and Mail) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/ONLINE HARMS] The far right is using AI to sell Hitler to a new generation  (Washington Post) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/FOREIGN INTERFERENCE] Crunchtime for Election Interference: October Is the Month of Mischief (New York Times) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/COPYRIGHT] Mark Zuckerberg faces deposition in AI copyright lawsuit from Sarah Silverman and other authors (Associated Press) 
• [PRIVACY] Better privacy can be one click away. Google and Apple won’t allow it. (Washington Post) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/REGULATION] Rethinking ‘Checks and Balances’ for the A.I. Age  (New York Times) 
• [CENSORSHIP] People are supporting ‘book sanctuaries’ despite politics: ‘No one wants to be censored’ (USA Today) 
• [MISINFORMATION] 5 Days With Elon Musk on X: Deepfakes, Falsehoods and Lots of Memes  (New York Times) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/ENERGY] Nuclear Power Is the New A.I. Trade. What Could Possibly Go Wrong? (New York Times) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/ENERGY] ‘Three New York Cities’ Worth of Power: AI Is Stressing the Grid (Wall Street Journal) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/ENERGY] US nuclear plants won’t power up Big Tech’s AI ambitions right away (Reuters) 
• [DISINFORMATION] OPINION: James Kirchick: The Thin Line Between Disinformation and Partisan Politics  (New York Times) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE REGULATION] OPINION: Garrison Lovely: Laws Need to Catch Up to Artificial Intelligence’s Unique Risks (New York Times) 
• [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] OPINION: Andy Kessler: What Happened to Free Speech? (Wall Street Journal) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/ACADEMIC DISHONESTY] OPINION: Megan McArdle: AI is an existential threat to colleges. Can they adapt?  (Washington Post) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/CONSUMER FRAUD] OPINION: Editorial Board: Editorial: Old-school scams pale compared with today’s ultra-personal consumer fraud  (Chicago Tribune) 

(September 25- October 1, 2024)

Supreme Court of Canada

• The Supreme Court of Canada has decided the following leave applications.
  • [PRIVACY/SURVEILLANCE] Duc Tung Hoang v. His Majesty the King  (Ontario) (Criminal) (By Leave) – Dismissed 

Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada

• Information Commissioner’s Statement for Right to Know Week 2024  

Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

• 2023-2024 ATIP Annual Reports tabled in Parliament 

Global Affairs Canada

• Independent Afghan journalists and media organizations win 2024 Canada-U.K. Media Freedom Award 
• Joint Statement on the Security and Resilience of Undersea Cables in a Globally Digitalized World 

Communications Security Establishment

• Cyber Security Awareness Month 2024 
• Statement by the Minister of National Defence on the start of Cyber Security Awareness Month 

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission

• Report:
  • Defining Canadian Content – Workshops with Stakeholders and Industry: What We Heard Report 
• Broadcasting and Telecoms:
  • Telecom order 2024-225 [2024-10-01 11:00:00] Streamlined order – The Commission approves on an interim basis the following tariff applications: Bandwidth Communications Canada, Inc., TN 1 and TN 1A 
  • Telecom order 2024-224
    [2024-09-27 11:00:00]
    Broadband Fund payment order – Approval of final implementation report – September 2024 – Public record: 1011-NOC2019-0372
  • Telecom order 2024-223
    [2024-09-27 11:00:00]
    Broadband Fund Payment Order – Approval of Claim Forms – September 2024 – Public records:1011-NOC2019-0191 and 1011-NOC2019-0372
  • Broadcasting information bulletin 2024-222
    [2024-09-26 11:00:00]
    Guidelines for all licensees of broadcasting undertakings serving the province of British Columbia – Provincial election
  • Broadcasting decision 2024-221
    [2024-09-26 11:00:00]
    Maritime Broadcasting System Limited – Digby, Nova Scotia – Application to change the authorized contours of the English-language radio station CKDY-FM Digby
  • Telecom order 2024-220
    [2024-09-25 11:00:00]
    Various companies – Removal of print directory obligation – Public records: DMTS, a division of Bell Canada Tariff Notice 89; Groupe Maskatel Québec S.E.C. Tariff Notice 90; KMTS, a division of Bell Canada Tariff Notice 100; NorthernTel Limited Partnership Tariff Notice 421; Ontera, a division of NorthernTel Limited Partnership Tariff Notice 154; Téléphone de St-Éphrem inc. Tariff Notice 58; Téléphone de St-Victor Tariff Notice 59; Téléphone Upton Tariff Notice 62
  • Telecom order 2024-219
    [2024-09-25 11:00:00]
    Various companies – Removal of print directory obligation and Service Improvement Plan – Public records: Bell Canada Tariff Notice 7690; Bell Aliant Regional Communications, Limited Partnership Tariff Notice 580; Bell MTS, a division of Bell Canada Tariff Notice 861; Northwestel Inc. Tariff Notice 1213; Télébec, Société en commandite Tariff Notice 554

Canadian Broadcast Standards Council 

• CTV re CTV National News report (capital gains tax) 

Amazon

• AWS in your community: Here’s what’s happening near data centers across the US 
• Llama 3.2 models from Meta are now available on AWS, offering more options for building generative AI applications 

Google

• Key takeaways from the ad tech trial 

Meta

•  Meta at UNGA 2024  
• Meta’s AI Products Just Got Smarter and More Useful  

OpenAI

• Upgrading the Moderation API with our new multimodal moderation model 

Supreme Court of Canada

• The Supreme Court of Canada will decide the following leave applications at 9:45 a.m. ET on Thursday, October 3, 2024. This list might change.
  • [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] Corinne Pereira v. Margaret Klonarakis  (British Columbia) (Civil) (By Leave) 
• Upcoming hearings
  • [TELECOMMUNICATIONS] Telus Communications Inc., et al. v. Federation of Canadian Municipalities, et al. – Scheduled for 9:30 a.m.  

Senate of Canada

• The Senate sitting and possible sitting days:  The Senate will be sitting from October 1 -3, with a possible sitting day on October 4, 2024.
  • Bills on the Agenda:
    • S-237: An Act to establish the Foreign Influence Registry and to amend the Criminal Code  – At second reading in the Senate
    • C-26: An Act respecting cyber security, amending the Telecommunications Act and making consequential amendments to other Acts – At second reading in the Senate  
    • C-291: An Act to amend the Criminal Code and to make consequential amendments to other Acts (child sexual abuse and exploitation material)  – At third reading in the Senate 
  • Meetings:
    • Standing Committee on Transport and Communications: Bill S-269, An Act respecting a national framework on advertising for sports betting – Tuesday, October 1, 2024 at 9:00 AM ET  
    • Banking, Commerce and the Economy (BANC):  Bill C-244, An Act to amend the Copyright Act (diagnosis, maintenance and repair) – Wednesday, October 2, 2024 at 4:15 PM ET 
    • Standing Committee on Transport and Communications: Bill S-269, An Act respecting a national framework on advertising for sports betting – Wednesday, October 2, 2024 at 6:45 PM ET  

House of Commons

• The House of Commons sitting and possible sitting days:  The House of Commons will be sitting from October 1-4, 2024.
  • Bills on the Agenda:
    • C-412:  An Act to enact the Protection of Minors in the Digital Age Act and to amend the Criminal Code – Outside the Order of Precedence – First reading completed on September 16, 2024 
  • Meetings:
    • Official Languages (LANG): Economic Development of Official Language Minority Communities; Federal Funding for Minority-Language Post-Secondary Institutions; Language Obligations Related to the Process of Staffing or Making Appointments to Key Positions – Tuesday, October 1, 2024, 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.  
    • Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security (SECU): Russian Interference and Disinformation Campaigns in Canada – Tuesday, October 1, 2024, 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.  
    •  Standing Committee on Access to Information and Privacy and Ethics (ETHI):Impact of Disinformation and of Misinformation on the Work of Parliamentarians  – Tuesday, October 1, 2024, 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission

• Anticipated releases for the week of 1 to 4 October 2024:
  • The CRTC is not planning on issuing any decisions, regulatory policies and reports in the week of 1 to 4 October 2024. This is subject to change without notice.
• Upcoming Hearings
  • September 14, 2023 – National Capital Region
    To consider the broadcasting applications listed in Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2023-206, View hearing documents (2023-206)
  • November 20, 2023 – Gatineau, Quebec
    To consider the broadcasting applications listed in Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2023-138, 2023-138-1 and 2023-138-2, View hearing documents (2023-138)
• CRTC Open Broadcasting Proceedings
• CRTC Open Telecom Proceedings

Consultations:

Spectrum Management Consultations

·         Consultation on a Policy, Licensing and Technical Framework for Supplemental Mobile Coverage by Satellite  – Closing date for comments: September 13, 2024. Closing date for reply to comments: October 25, 2024

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

·         Right to Repair Consultation – Closing date for comments: September 26, 2024. 

·         Improving Indigenous Access to Spectrum: Draft Indigenous Priority Window Spectrum Policy Framework – Closing date for comments: October 1, 2024 

·         Consultation on a Policy, Licensing and Technical Framework for Supplemental Mobile Coverage by Satellite – closing date for comments: September 13, 2024 (closing date for reply to comments: October 24, 2024) 

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission

·         Share your thoughts on the guidelines for consultations relating to official language minority communities and official languages- Deadline: October 9, 2024 (November 8, 2024  for members of official language minority communities) 

·         Share your thoughts about described video and audio description: Second consultation period – September 19 to November 20, 2024  

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

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