Compiled by Ian Steinberg and Kim Payne with Sara Bannerman

McMaster University, Communications Governance Observatory

Communications Governance Observatory Podcast

Podcast Episode 8: Platform Regulation Part 1 with Dr. Tamara Shepherd (17 min)

Podcast Episode 9: Platform Regulation Part 2 with Dr. Tamara Shepherd (17 min)

Canadian News (September 17-23, 2019)

·         [DATA GOVERNANCE] Ontario Human Rights Commission unveils policy to tackle racial profiling (Star)

·         [DATA GOVERNANCE] TTC will use race-based data in effort to end discrimination; Star story highlighted concerns about disproportionate targeting of Black riders by transit officers  (The Star)

·         [DATA GOVERNANCE] OPP going gender neutral with public information Ontario provincial police no longer releasing gender of people charged with crimes  (CTV)

·         [ELECTION COMMUNICTIONS] Opinion: A debatable decision about the debates (Globe and Mail)

·         [ELECTION COMMUNICATIONS] Opinion: Voters don’t need government censorship (National Post)

·         [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] Toronto council cuts ‘undeniably’ within Ford government’s authority, Court of Appeal rules (CBC)

·         [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION]  Banning books is ‘anachronistic’ now — but freedom of expression concerns remain in Canada (National Post)

·         [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] Freedom of expression or personal attack? Nurse appeals fine for Facebook post(National Post)

·         [DEFAMATION] Rebel Media files defamation suit against Press Progress in Alberta (The Star)

·         [DEFAMATION]  Trial by news release can be dangerous (National Post)

·         [DEFAMATION]  Trial by news release can be dangerous (National Post)

·         [PRIVACY; INTERNET REGULATION] Opinion: Canada’s golden opportunity to restore trust online (The Star)

·         [OFFICIAL SECRETS] Intelligence community reeling after RCMP director accused of violating secrets act (CBC)

·         [COPYRIGHT] Creative theft, poor payouts plague the artistic middle class (Globe and Mail)

·         [WIRELESS REGULATION] Opinion: Liberals unveil their crisis protocol, promise to put more money in everyone’s pocket (Globe and Mail)

International News (September 17-23, 2019)

·         [MEDIA OWNERSHIP] Court overturns FCC changes in media-ownership rules (WSJ)

·         [PRIVACY] Europe’s top court limits ‘right to be forgotten’ privacy rule (NYT)

·         [PRIVACY/NATIONAL SECURITY LETTERS] FBI reached deep for data, and in secret (NYT)

·         [ELECTIONS SECURITY] Washington, Silicon Valley struggle to unify on elections (WSJ)

·         [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] Zuckerberg and Bezos get grilled in Capital (NYT)

·         [PRIVACY/PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] Facebook’s purge balloons, in hint of wider misuse (NYT)

·         [PRIVACY/PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] Facebook suspends thousands of apps (NYT)

·         [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE/AI] The war on (unwanted) dick pics has begun (Guardian)

·         [PLATFORM REGULATION/GIG ECONOMY] Opinion: Let’s follow California’s lead and regulate companies like Uber(Guardian)

·         [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] Justice Dept. sues for Snowden book proceeds (Washington Post)

·         [PRESS FREEDOM] Egypt warns media to follow ‘professional codes’ in coverage of political protests (AP/Globe and Mail)

·         [CENSORSHIP] TikTok’s Beijing roots fuel censorship suspicion (Washington Post)

·         [PRIVACY] Facial recognition technology in public housing prompts backlash (NYT)

·         [PRIVACY] Facebook is still trying to make the Portal happen (Denver Post)

·         [PRIVACY] You watch TV. Your TV watches back (Washington Post)

·         [PRIVACY] Opinion: When news sites spy on you (NYT)

(September 17-23, 2019)

CRTC

News Releases:

·         Broadcasting decision 2019-329
[2019-09-20 11:00:00]
APPROVED – Canadian Broadcasting Corporation – Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet, Taloyoak (Spence Bay), Gjoa Haven, Baker Lake and Arviat (Eskimo Point), Nunavut – Applications to amend the broadcasting licence for the AM radio station CFFB Iqaluit, Nunavut, in order to add five rebroadcasting transmitters to its broadcasting licence as well as to revoke the broadcasting licence for the radio station CBQR-FM Rankin Inlet and its transmitters.

·         Broadcasting decision 2019-328
[2019-09-20 11:00:00]
APPROVED – Akash Broadcasting Inc. – Surrey, British Columbia – Application to change the authorized contours of the unlaunched commercial ethnic specialty radio station CJCN-FM Surrey

·         Telecom order 2019-327
[2019-09-20 11:00:00]
Streamlined Order – The Commission approves on an interim basis the following tariff application: Bell Canada TN 7599

·         Telecom notice of consultation 2019-326
[2019-09-20 11:00:00]
Call for comments Show cause proceeding and call for comments – Forbearance from the regulation of Canadian telecommunications common carriers’ international telecommunications service agreements or arrangements for the carriage of traffic into or out of Canada – Deadline for submission of interventions: 20 October 2019 – Public record: 1011-NOC2019-0326

·         Telecom decision 2019-325
[2019-09-20 11:00:00]
Bell Canada – Application for forbearance from the regulation of agreements and arrangements related to international telecommunications services – Public record: 8640-B2-201900903

·         Broadcasting decision 2019-324
[2019-09-18 11:00:00]
APPROVED – Canadian Broadcasting Corporation – Kelowna and Nakusp, British Columbia – Application to change the authorized contours of CBUM-FM, a low-power rebroadcasting transmitter of the English-language radio station CBTK-FM Kelowna (Radio One)

Policy Announcements:

·         Broadcasting regulatory policy 2019-308-1
[2019-09-20 11:00:00]
English-language closed captioning mandatory quality standards relating to the accuracy rate for live television programming – Correction – Public record: 1011-NOC2019-0009

Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

·         OPC publishes advice on what to do if you receive a breach notification

·         Commissioner concludes consultation on transfers for processing

Amazon

·         “Alexa, tell me about the election”

·         “Alexa, what am I holding?”

Facebook

·         Combating Hate and Extremism

·         Establishing Structure and Governance for an Independent Oversight Board

·         Meet the New Portal Family: Smart Video Calling on Your TV and Anywhere in Your Home

·         An Update on Our App Developer Investigation

·         People Raise Over $2 Billion for Causes on Facebook

Twitter

·         Inclusion & Diversity Report September 2019

·         Disclosing new data to our archive of information operations

“The 42nd Parliament was dissolved on September 11, 2019.

Dissolution occurs when the Governor General, on the advice of the Prime Minister, issues a proclamation putting an end to the current Parliament, which triggers a general election.

In practice, as soon as Parliament is dissolved, all committee activity ceases and, as such, all orders of reference and committee studies lapse. No committee may sit during a dissolution.”

Senate of Canada

·         No fixed and possible Senate sitting days this week.

Canadian House of Commons

·         No fixed and possible House of Commons sitting days this week.

Supreme Court of Canada

Judgements to be rendered in leave to appeal:

Keatley Surveying Ltd. v. Teranet Inc. (Ont.) (37863) (Ont.) (Civil) (By leave)
Intellectual property – Copyright – Crown copyright – Infringement – Legislation – Interpretation – Class action for breach of copyright by surveyors whose land surveys were scanned and copied into an online digital database – Does section 12 of the Copyright Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-42 , transfer copyright in plans of survey that are filed in provincial land registry offices from the surveyor creators to the government.
The respondent manages the Province of Ontario’s electronic land registry system (the “ELRS”). Documents that were prepared by land surveyors such as drawings, maps, charts and plans (collectively “plans of survey”) are registered in the ELRS. The public can obtain on-line copies of registered plans of survey through the respondent for a fee prescribed by statute, no part of which constitutes fees or royalties paid to the land surveyors who prepared them. The appellant is the representative plaintiff in a certified class action brought on behalf of approximately 350 land surveyors whose plans of survey were scanned and copied into the respondent’s digital database and made available on-line. The appellant claims that the respondent is in breach of copyright by reaping substantial profits at the expense of surveyors. The Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissed the appellant’s motion for summary judgment, granted the respondent’s motion for summary judgment and dismissed the class action. The court found that as a result of the legislative regime requiring registration or deposit of the plans of survey in the land registry office, ownership in the property of the plans of survey, including copyright, is transferred to the province. They are then “published by or under the direction or control of Her Majesty” pursuant to s. 12  of the Copyright Act . The Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, holding that provincial Crown copyright is by virtue of s. 12  of Copyright Act , not the provincial legislation.

·         Marie-Maude Denis c. Marc-Yvan Côté (Qc) (38114) (Que.) (Civil) (By Leave)
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms  – Freedom of expression and press – Journalist and confidential source – Judgments and orders – Interlocutory orders – Courts – Jurisdiction – Police investigations concerning respondent – News reports disclosing information and documents arising from investigations – Journalist forced to divulge identity of her confidential sources – Court of Appeal finding that it had no jurisdiction to hear appeal – Parliament’s intention as regards s. 39.1  of Canada Evidence Act , added to that Act by Journalistic Sources Protection Act  – Scope and implications of reversal of burden of proof in s. 39.1(9)  – Elements to be considered in new balancing exercise provided for in s. 39.1(7) (b) – Jurisdiction of provincial intermediate appellate courts under s. 39.1(10)  – Canada Evidence Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C‑5, s. 39.1 .
Mr. Côté alleged that certain documents and information arising from a police investigation relating to charges of fraud, bribery, corruption and breach of trust had ended up in the hands of a journalist, Ms. Denis, who had published certain details from them. Mr. Côté filed a motion for a stay of proceedings before the trial judge, alleging that the information disclosed had been deliberately leaked by agents of the state and that the leaks were an abuse of process that would compromise the fairness of his trial. He therefore tried to compel Ms. Denis to testify in order to force her to divulge the identity of her sources so that he could find the persons responsible for the leaks and support his position. Ms. Denis applied to have her summons as a witness quashed, relying on the confidential protection of her sources.
The Court of Québec dismissed the motion to divulge the identity of the sources under s. 39.1(7)  of the Canada Evidence Act . The Quebec Superior Court allowed Mr. Côté’s appeal and authorized the disclosure by Ms. Denis of the identity of her confidential sources. The Quebec Court of Appeal dismissed a subsequent appeal by Ms. Denis, finding that it had no jurisdiction over her appeal under s. 39.1(10)  of the Canada Evidence Act .

Judgements to be rendered in leave applications:

Copyright Board of Canada

Upcoming hearings:

·         Non-Commercial Radio
[CMRRA: 2003-2010; CSI: 2011-2018; Re:Sound: 2013-2018]
Hearing: Tuesday, October 27, 2020, at 10:00 a.m., Copyright Board hearing room.
Schedule of Proceedings;
Directive on Procedure

·         Background Music
[SOCAN: 2012-2018; Re:Sound: 2014-2018]
Hearing: Tuesday, December 8, 2020, at 10:00 a.m., Copyright Board hearing room.
Schedule of Proceedings;
Directive on Procedure

CRTC

The CRTC plans to issue the following decisions, regulatory policies and reports in the coming week. This list may be incomplete and is subject to change without notice.

Telecom Decision:

·         CISC Emergency Services Working Group – Non-consensus report ESRE0074 on how to best manage multi-line telephone systems in a Canadian Enhanced 9-1-1 environment
Public record: 8621-C12-01/08

Upcoming Public Hearings:

·         2019-217 Co-development of a new Indigenous Broadcasting Policy

·         November 5, 2019 – Gatineau, Quebec
To consider the broadcasting applications listed in Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2019-303
View hearing documents (2019-303)

·         CRTC Open Broadcasting Proceedings

·         CRTC Open Telecom Proceedings