Weekly Newsletter for April 8, 2025

Weekly News (April 8, 2025)

Compiled by Serra Hasiloglu and Brad McNeil with Sara Bannerman

McMaster University, Communications Governance Observatory

(April 2 – 8, 2025)

Canadian News

• [PUBLIC BROADCASTING] Carney, Singh pledge support for CBC to defend sovereignty, fight misinformation (Toronto Star)
• [BIG TECH/DIGITAL TAX] The distance between Pierre Poilievre and Mark Carney is shrinking when it comes to Donald Trump’s tariffs (Toronto Star)
• [ELECTIONS] Access to social- media election- integrity initiatives key to transparency, researchers say (Globe and Mail)
• [COMPETITION/ONLINE ADVERTISING] Competition Bureau pushes back on Google in market abuse suit (Toronto Star)
• [LANGUAGE RIGHTS] Court of Appeal sides with English school boards over Quebec government reforms (Canadian Press)
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS] Rogers finalizes $7-billion infrastructure sale to Blackstone, pension funds (Globe and Mail)
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS/BROADCASTING/SPORTS] Rogers, NHL make $11-billion, 12-year deal for national broadcast rights official (Toronto Star)
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS] Supreme Court dismisses TekSavvy’s wholesale rates appeal(Wire Report)
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/DATA CENTERS] O’Leary’s AI centre south of Grande Prairie working with province in weekly meetings (CTV News)
• [CYBERSECURITY] Lawyers for Canadian hacker say charges over alleged cyberattack on Texas Republican Party are ‘peculiar’ (Globe and Mail)
• [FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY] Hamilton drafting bylaw to ban protests at places of worship(Hamilton Spectator)
• [COPYRIGHT/INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES] Copyright issues extend Culture Alliance dissolution bickering (Hamilton Spectator)
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE REGULATION] Wheatland County establishes Artificial Intelligence policy (Hamilton Spectator)
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/EDUCATION] ChatGPT Plus is free for Canadian, US students during exam season, Sam Altman announces (Toronto Star)
• [HEALTH DATA] Canada’s medical records systems are unwell (Globe and Mail)
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS/BROADCASTING/SPORTS] OPINION: Bruce Arthur: More Rogers billions will make the NHL richer, not the viewing experience (Toronto Star)
• [DISINFORMATION] OPINION: Taylor Owen and Helen A. Hayes: How the next government can protect Canada’s information ecosystem (Globe and Mail)

International News

• [PLATFORM REGULATION/DISINFORMATION] E.U. Prepares Major Penalties Against Elon Musk’s X (New York Times)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION/CONTENT MODERATION] Meta can be sued in Kenya over posts related to Ethiopia violence, court rules (Reuters)
• [BIG TECH/POLITICAL INFLUENCE] South African lawmaker accuses minister of trying to change law for Musk’s Starlink (Reuters)
• [BIG TECH/CONTENT MODERATION] Meta’s content moderation contractor to cut 2,000 jobs in Barcelona (Reuters)
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE CHIPS] Chinese firms place $16 billion in order for new Nvidia chips, the Information reports (Reuters)
• [PERSONAL INFORMATION/PRIVACY] Musk’s DOGE team can access sensitive data for now, appeals court rules (Reuters)
• [BIG TECH/POLITICAL INFLUENCE/PLATFORM REGULATION] Is TikTok getting banned tomorrow? Trump extends decision for another 75 days (USA Today)
• [BIG TECH/POLITICAL INFLUENCE/LOBBYING/COMPETITION] Zuckerberg Lobbies Trump to Avoid Meta Antitrust Trial (Wall Street Journal)
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/BIG TECH/POLITICAL INFLUENCE] Emboldened by Trump, A.I. Companies Lobby for Fewer Rules (New York Times)
• [PRIVACY/MILITARY] Waltz’s team set up at least 20 Signal group chats for crises across the world (Politico)
• [PRIVACY/PERSONAL INFORMATION/LAWSUIT] 11 women file lawsuit against Michigan, ex-OC Matt Weiss in hacking case (USA Today)
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/INFRASTRUCTURE] US plans to develop AI projects on Energy Department lands (Reuters)
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/COPYRIGHT/BIG TECH/LAWSUIT] US authors’ copyright lawsuits against OpenAI and Microsoft combined in New York with newspaper actions(Guardian)
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/BIG TECH] Huge OpenAI funding round hinges on shedding nonprofit status (Washington Post)
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] Tinder lets you flirt with AI characters. Three of them dumped me (Washington Post)
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE REGULATION] Lawmakers seek to regulate AI bots that cultivate relationships with children (Washington Post)
• [PRIVACY] Companies are ignoring your privacy demands. No one is stopping them(Washington Post)
• [PRIVACY/TAXPAYER DATA/IMMIGRATION] OPINION: Editorial Board: IRS data privacy is a right worth fighting for (Washington Post)

(April 2 – 8, 2025)

Elections Canada

• News releases:
  • Safeguards That Protect the Federal Electoral Process

Privy Council Office

• News releases:
  • Update on Canada’s Actions to Protect General Election 45
• Backgrounder:
  • Information operation on WeChat targeting the 45th General Election

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission

• Speech:
  • Bram Abramson to The Canadian Independent Telecommunications Association
• Broadcasting and Telecoms:
  • Broadcasting notice of consultation 2025-52-2
    [2025-04-04 11:00:00]
    Notice of hearing – 18 September 2025 (previously 18 June 2025) – Gatineau, Quebec – The Path Forward – Supporting Canadian and Indigenous audio content – Change of hearing date; Extension to the deadlines for the filing of interventions and replies; Additional information added to the public record

United Nations

• Aid data critical to crisis response threatened by funding cuts
• AI’s ‘Oppenheimer moment’: Why new thinking is needed on disarmament
• AI’s $4.8 trillion future: UN warns of widening digital divide without urgent action

Google

• A practical approach to creative content and AI training
• Quantum computing education for global policy leaders

OpenAI

• OpenAI’s EU Economic Blueprint
• New commission to provide insight as OpenAI builds the world’s best-equipped nonprofit

TikTok

• Statement from ByteDance
• Project Clover update: Enhanced data security with Norwegian data centre fully online

House of Commons and Senate of Canada 

• The dissolution of the 44th Parliament occurred on March 23, 2025. Parliamentary business, including most committee business, is ended until the 45th Parliament.

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission

• Anticipated releases for the week of 7 to 11 April 2025:
  • The CRTC does not plan to issue any decisions, notices of consultation, orders and/or regulatory policies in the week of 7 to 11 April 2025. This is subject to change without notice. 
• Upcoming hearings:
  • May 14, 2025 (previously 31 March 2025) – Gatineau (Québec)
    Notice of hearing – The Path Forward – Defining “Canadian program” and supporting the creation and distribution of Canadian programming in the audio-visual sector in Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2024-288, 2024-288-1, 2024-288-2, 2024-288-3 – View hearing documents (2024-288)
  • June 10, 2025 – Gatineau (Québec)
    Notice of hearing – Making it easier for consumers to shop for Internet services – Telecom Notice of Consultation CRTC 2024-318, 2024-318-1, 2024-318-2
    View hearing documents (2024-318)             
  • June 18, 2025 (previously 12 May 2025) – Gatineau (Québec)
    Notice of hearing -The Path Forward – Working towards a sustainable Canadian broadcasting system – Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2025-2, 2025-2-1, 2025-2-2 – View hearing documents (2025-2)
  • September 18, 2025 (previously 18 June 2025)
    Notice of hearing – The Path Forward – Supporting Canadian and Indigenous audio content – Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2025-52, 2025-52-1, 2025-52-2 – View hearing documents (2025-52)
• CRTC Open Broadcasting Proceedings
• CRTC Open Telecom Proceedings

Consultations:

Spectrum Management Consultations

• Consultation on the 26 GHz and 38 GHz Bands – Respondents should submit their comments no later than May 5, 2025 to ensure consideration.

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

• Consultation on the implementation of the Global Cross-Border Privacy Rules (CBPR) Forum certifications in Canada – Respondents should complete the online consultation form and submit their feedback no later than June 30, 2025.

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission

• Share your thoughts on Canadian content for audio services – End date: May 5, 2025

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

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