Newsletter: June 2, 2020

Weekly News (June 2, 2020)
Compiled by Fizza Kulvi with Sara Bannerman
McMaster University, Communications Governance Observatory

(May 26 – June 1, 2020)

New book: Canadian Communication Policy and Law by Sara Bannerman

Canadian News

• [TELECOMMUNICATOPN POLICY] Shaw seeks exemption from having to provide new one gigabit internet service to wholesalers (Globe and Mail)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION] Trump targets Twitter, threatens changes to U.S. law enshrined in USMCA (Toronto Star)
• [ACCESS TO INFORMATION] Duclos reminds cabinet colleagues to be transparent, ‘even in times of crisis’ (National Post)
• [FAKE NEWS] Most federal candidates saw false information as problem, survey suggests (National Post)
• [MEDIA OWNERSHIP] Torstar purchase financed by Postmedia debtholder (Toronto Star)
• [MEDIA OWNERSHIP] OPINION: Lingrend: Local news is being decimated during one of its most important moments (Policy Options Magazine)
• [CYBERSECURITY] Alleged COVID-19 scams lead to takedowns of more than 1,000 websites in Canada (CTV)
• [HUAWEI CASE] Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou loses key court battle as B.C. judge rules extradition bid should proceed (CBC)

International News

• [PRIVACY] Debate on surveillance and privacy heats up as U.S. protests rage (Reuters)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION/FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] Trump’s growing feud with Twitter fuels free-speech concerns (Washington Post)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION] While Twitter Confronts Trump, Zuckerberg Keeps Facebook Out of It (NYT)
• [DEFAMATION] News Outlets Are Liable for Others’ Facebook Comments, Australian Court Rules (WSJ)
• [PRIVACY] Members of Congress to unveil bipartisan privacy bill to regulate contact-tracing apps, fearing potential privacy abuses (Washington Post)
• [PRIVACY] House cancels vote to renew surveillance powers after Trump threatens veto (WSJ)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION] U.S. senators urge probe of TikTok on children’s privacy (Reuters)
• [FREEDOM OF THE PRESS] CNN Arrest Is What Actual Censorship Looks Like (NYT)
• [CYBERSECURITY] The Cybersecurity 202: Protest goes online in Minneapolis as city, police websites hit by cyberattacks (Washington Post)
• [PRIVACY] European government officials call for tech companies to loosen grip on contact-tracing technology (Washington Post)
• [BROADCASTING POLICY] Chinese state TV broke Ofcom rules with biased Hong Kong coverage (The Guardian)

(May 26 – June 1, 2020)

Supreme Court of Canada

• [BROADCASTING POLICY] Canadian Broadcasting Corporation v Her Majesty the Queen, et al.; “The motions for an extension of time to serve and file the applications for leave to appeal and the applicant’s reply are granted. The applications for leave to appeal from the judgments of the Court of Appeal of Manitoba, Number AR14-30-08288, 2018 MBCA 125, dated November 27, 2018, and Number AR14-30-08288, 2019 MBCA 122, dated October 28, 2019, are granted.”

Supreme Court of British Columbia

• United States v Meng, 2020 BCSC 785

Democratic Institutions

• Government of Canada leading globally to promote cybersecurity and counter disinformation online

Office of the Privacy Commissioner

• Modernizing federal privacy laws to better protect Canadians (Speech delivered on March 9, 2020)
• Appearance before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology (INDU) on contact tracing applications

Canadian Security Establishment

• Cyber Threat Bulletin: Impact of COVID-19 on Cyber Threat Activity

Facebook

• Mark Zuckerberg Facebook post of May 29 2020

Twitter

• Inclusion & Diversity Report May 2020: Principles During a Pandemic
• #KeepItOn: Making your voice heard to end Internet shutdowns

CRTC

News Releases:

• Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2020-165
  [2020-05-26 11:00 AM]
  APPROVED – Maritime Broadcasting System Limited – Various locations in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island – Applications to renew the broadcasting licences for the English-language commercial radio stations listed in the decision
• Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2020-168
  [2020-05-26 11:00 AM]
  APPROVED – Harvard Broadcasting Inc. – Various locations in Alberta and Saskatchewan – Applications to renew the broadcasting licences for the English-language commercial radio stations listed in the decision
• Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2020-169
  [2020-05-26 11:00 AM]
  APPROVED – Various licensees – Various locations in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Yukon and Northwest Territories – Applications to renew the broadcasting licences for the commercial radio stations listed in the decision
• Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2020-172
  [2020-05-27 11:00 AM]
  APPROVED – Various licensees – Various locations across Canada – Applications to renew the broadcasting licences for the campus and community radio stations listed in the decision
• Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2020-174
  [2020-05-28 11:00 AM]
  APPROVED – Various licensees – Various locations in Ontario – Applications to renew the broadcasting licences for the commercial radio stations listed in the decision
• Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2020-177
  [2020-06-01 11:00 AM]
  APPROVED – Evanov Radio Group Inc. – Montréal, Quebec – Application to revoke the broadcasting licence for the French-language AM radio station CHRF Montréal

Senate of Canada

• No sitting days this week

Canadian House of Commons

• No sitting days this week
• Upcoming committee meetings:
• [INDU] (June 1, 2020) Industry, Science and Technology: Open for public comment until June 19, 2020

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.

Anticipated releases for the week of June 1 – June 5, 2020

• The CRTC is not planning on issuing any decisions, regulatory policies and reports in the coming week. This is subject to change without notice.

Upcoming Public Hearings

• CRTC Open Broadcasting Proceedings
• CRTC Open Telecom Proceedings

Open Public Consultations:

• Telecom Notice of Consultation CRTC 2020-178: Call for comments – Accessibility – mobile wireless service plans that meet the needs of Canadians with various disabilities (June 1, 2020 – July 2, 2020)
• Political Communications in Federal Elections (August 21, 2020 deadline)
• Increasing High-Speed Broadband: Stakeholder and Partner Engagement (June 1, 2019 to June 20, 2020
• Renewal of CBC’s licenses (closed; Next step: Public hearing POSTPONED)
• 2019-217 Co-development of a new Indigenous Broadcasting Policy (closed; Next step: Preliminary conclusions and determinations)

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