Weekly Newsletter for October 15, 2024

Weekly News (October 15, 2024)

Compiled by Brad McNeil with Sara Bannerman

McMaster University, Communications Governance Observatory

(October 9 – 15, 2024)

Canadian News

• [FOREIGN INTERFERENCE] Trudeau says he has names of Conservative politicians engaged in foreign interference, citing classified intelligence (Globe and Mail) 
• [PUBLIC BROADCASTING] ‘The “defund” narrative has picked up momentum,’ CBC president warns in email (National Post) 
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS] CRTC calls on Big 3 telecoms to lower international roaming fees (BNN Bloomberg) 
• [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] Star columnist Shree Paradkar wins PEN Canada prize for advancing freedom of expression (Toronto Star) 
• [ONLINE STREAMING ACT] Bryan Adams decries Ottawa online streaming rules (CBC) 
• [DIGITAL FRAUD]  Suspected Digital Fraud Coming from Canada Up Nearly 11% Since H1 2023, Reveals New TransUnion Analysis  (The Canadian Press) 
• [BROADCASTING] Mark Messier says ‘change’ is inevitable as the NHL enters streaming era on Amazon (Global News) 
• [CYBERATTACK] Calgary Public Library locations closed due to cybersecurity breach (Global News) 
• [PRIVACY] Police board seeks public input on body-worn cameras for Hamilton cops  (The Hamilton Spectator) 
• [PRIVACY] The rules for ‘granny cams’ in long-term care homes are unclear, with both families and staff looking for certainty (Globe and Mail) 
• [ALGORITHMS/LABOUR]  Drivers worry Uber’s new pricing algorithm will hike fares for riders while reducing their pay  (Toronto Star)  
• [JOURNALISM/ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] OPINION: Nicole Blanchett, Charles H. Davis, Mariia Sozoniuk, Sibo Chen: Transparency and trust: How news consumers in Canada want AI to be used in journalism (The Conversation) 
• [HATE SPEECH/ONLINE HARMS] OPINION: Amira Elghawa: The climate of fear around Canadian Muslims needs to go. Here’s one powerful antidote to Islamophobia  (Toronto Star) 
• [ACCESS TO INFORMATION] OPINION: Matt Malone: The promise of government-official accountability is vanishing – along with their texts (Globe and Mail) 
• [ONLINE HARMS ACT] OPINION: Emily laidlaw & Taylor Owen: A three-step plan for passing the Online Harms Act — before it’s too late (Toronto Star) 
• [HATE SPEECH] OPINION: Tanya Talaga: Canada must stand against residential-school denialism  (Globe and Mail) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] OPINION: Editorial Board: With AI, grasp the future… while we can (Globe and Mail) 

International News

• [PLATFORM REGULATION] New UK bill could force social media firms to make content less addictive for under 16s (The Guardian) 
• [PLATFORM REGULATION] Australia’s planned social media ban raises teen isolation fears (Reuters) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE]  How the tiny Caribbean island of Anguilla has turned the AI boom into a digital gold mine  (Toronto Star) 
• [CONTENT MODERATION] British police reduce X presence amid extremist content worries  (Reuters) 
• [DATA PRIVACY] Many of Australia’s top car sellers are collecting and sharing driver data, Choice investigation finds (The Guardian)  
• [PLATFORM REGULATION/COMPETITION] US plan to break up Google’s search dominance threatens profit engine, AI growth (Reuters) 
• [INTERNET POLICY] Russia bans Discord chat program, to the chagrin of its military users  (Washington Post) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/REGULATION] Tech leaders agree on AI regulation but divided on how in Washington forum (The Guardian) 
• [CONTENT MODERATION]  Meta’s independent Oversight Board expands with appeals center in Europe  (Washington Post)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION/ONLINE HARMS] TikTok knew depth of app’s risks to children, court document alleges  (Washington Post) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/REGULATION] California’s AI Safety Bill Is Dead, but the Regulation Debate Lives On (Wall Street Journal)  
• [PRIVACY] Sketchy Websites Find a Haven in Iceland’s Privacy Laws  (New York Times) 
• [PLATFORM REGULATION] X is back online in Brazil, but it’s still a defeat for Musk  (Washington Post) 
• [COMPETITION/LAWSUIT] Microsoft settles video gamers’ lawsuit over US$69-billion Activision Blizzard deal  (Globe and Mail) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/ELECTIONS] This threat hunter chases U.S. foes exploiting AI to sway the election (Washington Post) 
• [CONTENT MODERATION] ByteDance’s TikTok cuts hundreds of jobs in shift towards AI content moderation (Reuters) 
• [CYBERSECURITY/TELECOMMUNICATIONS] U.S. Officials Race to Understand Severity of China’s Salt Typhoon Hacks (Wall Street Journal) 
• [PLATFORM REGULATION/ANTITRUST] Why Breaking Up Google Would Be Hard to Do  (New York Times) 
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS] Helene’s aftermath opens new chance — and controversy — for Musk’s Starlink   (Washington Post) 
• [DEFAMATION] Mark Robinson sues CNN over report he wrote racist posts on porn website (the Guardian) 
• [PLATFORM REGULATION/ANTITRUST] Biden’s Big Tech antitrust cases march ahead ; Here’s where the FTC and Justice Dept. lawsuits against Google, Amazon, Meta and Apple stand now.  (Washington Post) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE REGULATION] It’s Time For ‘Nutrition Labels’ In Artificial Intelligence (Forbes) 
• [MISINFORMATION] Helene response hampered by misinformation, conspiracy theories (Washington Post) 
• [DISINFORMATION/DEFAMATION] Gateway Pundit settles with 2 Georgia election workers in defamation suit  (Washington Post) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/ALGORITHMIC BIAS] Using A.I., Nevada Finds Fewer ‘At-Risk’ Students  (New York Times) 
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS/ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] Deutsche Telekom Looks to AI to Boost Revenue Growth, Trim Costs (Wall Street Journal) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] Who Is That You Are Chatting With? Oh, Just ChatGPT.  (New York Times)
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] This AI Pioneer Thinks AI Is Dumber Than a Cat; Yann LeCun, an NYU professor and senior researcher at Meta Platforms, says warnings about the technology’s existential peril are ‘complete B.S.’   (Wall Street Journal) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/COPYRIGHT] Can a Start-Up Help Authors Get Paid by A.I. Companies?  (New York TImes) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/ELECTIONS] OpenAI sees continued attempts by threat actors to use its models for election influence (Reuters) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/ENVIRONMENT] A utility promised to stop burning coal. Then Google and Meta came to town.  (Washington Post) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/PRIVACY] His daughter was murdered. Then she reappeared as an AI chatbot.  (Washington Post) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/SCIENCE] 3 Scientists Used A.I. To Crack Proteins’ Code  (New York Times) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] OPINION: Andrew Kassoy:  OpenAI Could Be a Force for Good if It Can Answer These Questions First  (New york Times) 
• [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] OPINION: Editorial Board: A Reporter’s Shield Law Is Vital to Prevent Abuses of Power  (New York Times) 
• [CAMPUS PROTESTS/FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] OPINION: Greg Weiner: Campus Protesters Hijack Academic Freedom (Wall Street Journal) 
• [BIG TECH/POLITICS] OPINION: Kim Scott: ‘Founder Mode’ Explains the Rise of Trump in Silicon Valley  (New York Times) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] OPINION: Evan Ratliff: I Created an A.I. Voice Clone to Prank Telemarketers. But the Joke’s on Us.; Guest Essay  (New York Times)

(October 9 – 15, 2024)

Supreme Court of Canada

• The Supreme Court of Canada has decided the following leave applications.
  • [COPYRIGHT] Leonard B. French v. Royal Canadian Legion (Dominion Command) (Fed.) (Civil) (By Leave) (41324) (Dismissed)  

Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

• News Release
  • Privacy Commissioner meets with G7 counterparts to advance global leadership on privacy protection 
  • Annual meeting of federal, provincial, and territorial information and privacy commissioners and ombuds
• Announcement
  •  G7 Data Protection and Privacy Authorities’ Communiqué
• Action Plan
  •  G7 Data Protection and Privacy Authorities’ Action Plan
• Statement
  •  Statement by the Privacy Commissioner following release of committee report on the federal government’s use of technological tools capable of extracting personal data from mobile devices and computers 
  •  Statement on the Role of Data Protection Authorities in Fostering Trustworthy AI
  •  Statement on AI and Children
• Paper
  • Reducing identifiability in cross-national perspective: Statutory and policy definitions for anonymization, pseudonymization, and de-identification in G7 jurisdictions      

Innovation, Science and Economic development Canada

• Government of Canada to highlight support for advanced computing infrastructure for researchers 
• Government of Canada invests in Giatec® Scientific Inc. and its AI-driven concrete demonstration plant 

Competition Bureau Canada

•  Opening statement to the Standing Committee on Industry and Technology: Credit card practices and regulations 
• Opening Statement to the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages: Digital Health Care Market Study

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission

• News Release:
  • CRTC launches public consultation on the Code of Conduct for bargaining under the Online News Act 
• Backgrounder:
  • CRTC Broadband Fund: Projects selected in October 2024 
• Report:
  • Defining Canadian Content – Workshops with Stakeholders and Industry: What We Heard Report 
• Broadcasting and Telecoms:
  • Telecom order 2024-240
    [2024-10-11 11:00:00]
    Streamlined order – The Commission approves on an interim basis the following tariff application: Northwestel Inc., TN 1226A
  • Telecom decision 2024-239
    [2024-10-10 11:00:00]
    Application to review and vary Telecom Regulatory Policy 2024-26 regarding thousand block pooling – Public record: 8698-B2-202402874
  • Telecom decision 2024-238
    [2024-10-09 11:00:00]
    Facilities-based wholesale mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) access tariffs – Expanding the scope to include enterprise and Internet of Things customers – Public records: 1011-NOC2023-0048, Bell Canada Tariff Notice 6, Rogers Communications Canada Inc. Tariff Notice 72, Saskatchewan Telecommunications Tariff Notice 372, and TELUS Communications Inc. Tariff Notice 563
  • Broadcasting decision 2024-237
    [2024-10-08 11:00:00]
    OWN Inc. – Across Canada – Application to revoke the broadcasting licence for the English-language discretionary service OWN
  • Broadcasting notice of consultation 2024-236
    [2024-10-08 11:00:00]
    Call for comments – Proposed regulations – Code of Conduct Respecting Bargaining in Relation to Online News Content – Deadline to submit an intervention: 7 November 2024 – Public record: 1011-NOC2024-0236

Amazon

• Amazon unveils the next generation of fulfillment centers powered by AI and 10 times more robotics 

United Nations

• Growth in online child sexual exploitation and abuse must be urgently addressed  

Google

• DOJ’s radical and sweeping proposals risk hurting consumers, businesses, and developers 

Microsoft

• One Year On: Microsoft’s Acquisition of Activision Blizzard is Fueling Gaming Innovation and Competition
• Escalating Cyber Threats Demand Stronger Global Defense and Cooperation

OpenAI

• Evaluating fairness in ChatGPT  

Supreme Court of Canada

• The Supreme Court of Canada will hear the following appeal on October 16, 2024 at 9:30 am
  • Telus Communications Inc., et al. v. Federation of Canadian Municipalities, et al.  (Federal) (Civil) (By Leave) 

Senate of Canada

• The Senate sitting and possible sitting days:  The Senate will not be sitting the week of October 14 – 18, 2024.

House of Commons

• The House of Commons sitting and possible sitting days:  The House of Commons will not be sitting the week of October 14 – 18, 2024.

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission

• Anticipated Releases:
  • The CRTC is not planning on issuing any decisions, regulatory policies and reports in the week of 15 to 18 October 2024. This is subject to change without notice.  
• Upcoming Hearings
  • November 20, 2024 – 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

• 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  
• Share your thoughts on the proposed code of conduct for bargaining under the Online News Act: End Date – November 7, 2024 

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

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