Weekly Newsletter for March 18, 2024

Weekly News (March 18, 2025)

Compiled by Brad McNeil and Serra Hasiloglu with Sara Bannerman

McMaster University, Communications Governance Observatory

(March 12 – 18, 2025)

Canadian News

• [ONLINE NEWS] Media outlets start receiving Google payments from Online News Act, journalism group says (Globe and Mail)
• [BIG TECH/ONLINE HARMS/LAWSUIT] Ontario school boards clear hurdle in lawsuits against Meta, Snapchat, TikTok (CBC)
• [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] Quebec committee to look at how to strengthen secularism, possible public prayer ban (CBC)
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/SCAM] B.C. Securities Commission produces edgy campaign to warn of AI scams (Globe and Mail)
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/INNOVATION] Canada is a supercomputer laggard. Here’s why that’s needs to change (Financial Post)
• [PERSONAL INFORMATION/PRIVACY] Vancouver municipal council by-election candidate forced to apologize for e-mail outreach to police officers (Globe and Mail)
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/INVESTMENT] In a more volatile environment, tech investors turn to AI ‘picks and shovels’ (Globe and Mail)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION] Peterborough councillor proposes city break up with X (Peterborough Examiner)
• [CENSORSHIP/BOOK BANS] OPINION: Ira Wells: From Mississauga to Florida, school book bans are spurred by the same assumption: books corrupt our kids. It’s completely wrong (Toronto Star)
• [PUBLIC BROADCASTING] OPINION: Chris Alexander and Jessica Johnson: The CBC can’t singlehandedly unite Canada. Here’s what it can do (Toronto Star)

International News

• [BIG TECH/ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/COPYRIGHT] French publishers and authors sue Meta over copyright works used in AI training (Associated Press)
• [BIG TECH/ PRIVACY] U.K. court holds hearing on Apple’s fight against surveillance order(Washington Post)
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/DEEPFAKES] Spain to impose massive fines for not labelling AI-generated content (Reuters)
• [SOCIAL MEDIA BANS/PLATFORM REGULATION] Albania starts turning off TikTok amid concern over youth violence (Reuters)
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/INFRASTRUCTURE] If Europe builds the gigafactories, will an AI industry come? (Reuters)
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/INFRASTRUCTURE/CRYPTOCURRENCY] UAE crypto bet is a new twist on AI infrastructure (Reuters)
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE CHIPS/LAWSUIT] Singapore prosecutors say US server fraud case involves $390 million of transactions (Reuters)
• [BIG TECH/COMPETITION] Trump’s FTC advances broad antitrust probe of Microsoft, Bloomberg News reports (Reuters)
• [BIG TECH/POLITICAL INFLUENCE/FREEDOM OF INFORMATION] Musk’s Team Must Produce Documents to Comply With Open Records Laws, Judge Says (New York Times)
• [PERSONAL INFORMATION/PRIVACY] Detained activist Khalil sues to bar Columbia from sharing disciplinary records (Reuters)
• [CENSORSHIP] Miami Beach mayor threatens theater’s lease over West Bank documentary(Washington Post)
• [ONLINE HARMS/PLATFORM REGULATION] Amid push to keep minors safe online, a disagreement over who is responsible (Washington Post)
• [BIG TECH/ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/COMPETITION] Inside Google’s Investment in the A.I. Start-Up Anthropic (New York Times)
• [BIG TECH/ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/BUSINESS] OpenAI Wants Businesses to Build Their Own AI Agents (Wall Street Journal)
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE CHIPS] Exclusive: Meta begins testing its first in-house AI training chip (Reuters)
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/COPYRIGHT] ChatGPT firm reveals AI model that is ‘good at creative writing’ (Guardian)
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/ENTERTAINMENT] The Russo Brothers Upended Hollywood Once. Now They Aim to Do It Again (Wall Street Journal) 
• [BIG TECH] A Facebook Insider’s Exposé Alleges Bad Behavior at the Top (New York Times)
• [FREEDOM OF PRESS] OPINION: Jason Shepard: Trump’s attacks on the media are eroding independent journalism (Globe and Mail)

(March 12 – 18, 2025)

Federal Court of Canada

• [COPYRIGHT] Bell Media Inc. v. Marshall Macciacchera (Smoothstreams.tv) – 2025 FC 461

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

• News releases:
  • Canada invests in five networks to stimulate innovation in key emerging technology sectors
  • Government of Canada launches consultation to implement international data protection and privacy certifications to enable trusted cross-border data flows globally

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission

• Broadcasting and Telecoms:
  • Broadcasting decision 2025-79
    [2025-03-14 11:00:00]
    DHX Television Ltd. – Across Canada – Complaint by DHX Television Ltd., carrying on business as WildBrain Television, against Bell Canada and any of its owned or affiliated broadcasting distribution undertakings, alleging undue preference regarding the distribution of Family Channel, Family Jr., WildBrain TV and Télémagino
  • Telecom order 2025-78
    [2025-03-12 11:00:00]
    Streamlined order – The Commission approves the following tariff application: Bell Canada, TN 7707
  • Telecom order 2025-77
    [2025-03-11 11:00:00]
    Bell Canada and TELUS Communications Inc. – Interim wholesale support structure rates – Public record: Bell Canada Tariff Notice 981 and TELUS Communications Inc. Tariff Notice 590
  • Broadcasting decision 2025-76
    [2025-03-11 11:00:00]
    Arsenal Media Inc. – Various locations in Quebec – Application to change the ownership and control of the French-language commercial radio stations CFEI-FM Saint-Hyacinthe, CFVM-FM Amqui, CFZZ-FM Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, CHRD-FM and CJDM-FM Drummondville, CIKI-FM Rimouski and its transmitter CIKI-FM-2 Sainte-Marguerite-Marie and CJOI-FM Rimouski
  • Broadcasting decision 2025-75
    [2025-03-11 11:00:00]
    Joel Lagacé, on behalf of a not-for-profit corporation to be incorporated – Cochrane, Ontario – Application for a broadcasting licence to operate a low-power, English-language developmental community FM radio station in Cochrane

United Nations

• Iran protests: Human Rights Council probe condemns online, app-based repression
• ‘Anxiety, paranoia, fear’: The consequences of digital violence against women
• Women, girls bear brunt of cyberbullying against persons with disabilities

Google

• Google’s comments on the U.S. AI Action Plan
• Google’s legislative proposal for keeping kids safe online

Meta

• Testing Begins for Community Notes on Facebook, Instagram and Threads

OpenAI

• The court rejects Elon’s latest attempt to slow OpenAI down
• New tools for building agents

TikTok

• New ways we’re supporting parents and helping teens build balanced digital habits
• New Oxford Economics report estimates 28 million workers employed by the 7.5 million US businesses on TikTok

Senate of Canada

• The Senate sitting and possible sitting days:  Parliament is prorogued – The prorogation of the first session of the 44^th Parliament was proclaimed on January 6, 2025. Parliamentary business, including committee business (other than the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration, Standing Committee on Ethics and Conflict of Interest for Senatorsand the Standing Committee on Audit and Oversight), is ended and will reconvene on March 24, 2025 for the second session of the 44^th Parliament.

House of Commons

• The House of Commons sitting and possible sitting days:  The 1st session of the 44th Parliament was prorogued on January 6, 2025. Prorogation occurs when the Governor General, on the advice of the Prime Minister, issues a proclamation putting an end to a parliamentary session. In practice, as soon as Parliament is either prorogued or dissolved, all committee activity ceases and, as such, all orders of reference and committee studies lapse. 

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission

• Anticipated releases for the week of 17 to 21 March 2025:
  • The CRTC plans to issue the following decisions, notices of consultation, orders and/or regulatory policies in the week of 17 to 21 March 2025. This is subject to change without notice. 
  • Broadcasting Notice of Consultation:
• Call for comments – A new approach to funding public interest participation in Commission proceedings
• Upcoming hearings:
  • March 27, 2025 – National Capital Region
    Notice of hearing – The Commission intends to consider the following applications, subject to interventions, without the appearance of the parties in Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2025-18 – View hearing documents (2025-18
  • March 31, 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 – View hearing documents (2024-288)            
  • May 12, 2025 – Gatineau (Québec)
    Notice of hearing -The Path Forward – Working towards a sustainable Canadian broadcasting system – Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2025-2 – View hearing documents (2025-2)
  • 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 – View hearing documents (2024-318)
  • June 18, 2025 – Gatineau (Québec)
    Notice of hearing – The Path Forward – Supporting Canadian and Indigenous audio content – Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2025-52 – 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: April 7, 2025

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