Newsletter: June 23, 2020

Weekly News (June 23, 2020)
Compiled by Fizza Kulvi with Sara Bannerman
McMaster University, Communications Governance Observatory

(June 16 – June 22, 2020)

Canadian News

• [ACCESS TO INFORMATION] Ottawa should treat access to information as an essential service during pandemic, commissioner says (Globe and Mail)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION] Google, Facebook should pay ‘fair share’; Heritage minister weighs in on content dispute (Financial Post)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION/COMPETITION LAW] Levelling the digital economy playing field rests with Ottawa; Competition bureau doesn’t have the powers (Financial Post)
• [PRIVACY] Data wars; Why technology advocates believe privacy regulations need serious reform (Financial Post)
• [PRIVACY] Privacy watchdogs taking a look at Tim Hortons app’s location tracking technology (Financial Post)
• [CULTURAL POLICY] Before cameras roll, Canadian film and TV producers face one large, un-sexy issue: insurance; March’s countrywide shutdown put about 172,000 film and TV jobs in deep freeze (Globe and Mail)
•  [TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLCY] Telus installed Huawei gear in National Capital Region 4G network in apparent contravention of understanding with Ottawa (Globe and Mail)
• [BROADCASTING POLICY] Alleged forced-confession victim worries CRTC ignoring complaint (Toronto Star)
• [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] Facebook strikes agreement with Canadian Press to create eight reporting jobs (Times Colonist)
• [PRIVACY] People have a right to capture footage of police on the job, say legal experts (National Post)
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY] Huawei hires lobbyists to expand artificial intelligence research in Canada (Globe and Mail)
• [CONTACT TRACING] Canada promotes contact tracing app (Globe & Mail)
• [CONTACT TRACING] Ontario to track virus using smartphone app (Toronto Star)
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY] Musk’s SpaceX applies for Canadian telecom licence; Northern internet (Globe and Mail)
• [BROADCASTING POLICY] OPINION: Doyle: COVID-era CBC TV is a shambles (Globe and Mail)

International News

• [HATE SPEECH] French Court Weakens Law Against Online Hate Speech (NYT)
• [COMPETITION LAW] Apple antitrust probes show EU is seeking to smash Big Tech’s rules (Financial Post)
• [PRIVACY] Nobody reads privacy policies. This senator wants lawmakers to stop pretending we do. (Washington Post)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION/HATE SPEECH] The Technology 202: Major brands announce temporary Facebook ad boycott (Washington Post)
• [PRIVACY] The Cybersecurity 202: Privacy experts say many coronavirus apps aren’t doing enough to safeguard users’ information (Washington Post)
• [PRIVACY/DATA COLLECTION] IRS Used Phone Data To Track Suspects (WSJ)
• [FAKE NEWS/MISINFORMATION] Twitter labels Trump video tweet as manipulated media as it cracks down on misinformation (Washington Post)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION/HATE SPEECH] Facebook Removes Trump Campaign Ads for Violating Policy on Use of Hate Symbol (WSJ)
• [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] Not just nipples: how Facebook’s AI struggles to detect misinformation (Guardian)
• [COMPETITION LAW] Smart speakers risk creating ‘big-tech monopoly’ in homes (Guardian)
• [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] A Former Google Executive Takes Aim at His Old Company With a Start-Up (NYT)
• [CYBERSECURITY] What’s Keeping CIOs Up at Night (WSJ)
• [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] Apple switches to its own chips for Mac computers as it adds features, privacy controls (Reuters)
• [CONTACT TRACING] Britain Didn’t Want Silicon Valley’s Help on a Tracing App. Now It Does. (NYT)
• [SURIVEILLANCE] China Puts All Its Men in DNA Surveillance Net (NYT)

(June 16 – June 22, 2020)

Canadian Heritage

• Government of Canada to Invest in Cultural Infrastructure in Summerside, Prince Edward Island
• The Government of Canada Maintains Its Efforts to Support Cultural and Heritage Organizations
• Rimouski’s Théâtre du Bic Upgrades Its Facilities

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

• Government of Canada invests in forward-looking clean technology start-ups

National Film Board

• NFB RELEASES HIGHLIGHTS FOR 2019–2020. Results from the past year in creation, diversity and inclusion, gender parity, Indigenous works and distribution.

Microsoft

• Increasing election security monitoring in cloud computing
• New tools to secure democracy
• Social contact as the new scarce resource  

Twitter

• Your Tweet, your voice

Facebook

• Launching the largest voting information effort in US history

Apple

• Apple’s App Store ecosystem facilitated over half a trillion dollars in commerce in 2019 

CRTC

News Releases:

• Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2020-201
  [2020-06-22 11:00 AM]
  RENEWED – Canadian Broadcasting Corporation – Across Canada – Broadcasting licences for the television and radio stations set out in the appendix to the decision form 1 September 2020 to 31 August 2021
• Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2020-198
  [2020-06-19 11:00 AM]
  APPROVED – TV Hamilton Limited – Hamilton, Ontario – Application to renew the broadcasting licence for the English-language community programming network Cable 14 Hamilton
• Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2020-197
  [2020-06-19 11:00 AM]
  APPROVED – Câblevision du Nord de Québec inc. – Province of Quebec – Application to renew the broadcasting licence for CNQ’s on-demand service
• Broadcasting Order CRTC 2020-195
  [2020-06-19 11:00 AM]
  Broadcasting Licence Fees – Part I

Supreme Court of Canada

• The Supreme Court of Canada announced today that judgment in the following appeal will be delivered at 9:45 a.m. EDT on Friday, June 26, 2020: 
  [PLATFORM REGULATION]  Uber Technologies Inc., et al. v. David Heller (Ont.): The appellants, Uber Technologies Inc., Uber Canada Inc., Uber B.V., and Rasier Operations B.V. are part of a group of companies that have come to be known collectively and individually as Uber. Uber has developed computer software applications for GPS-enabled smartphones for transportation and restaurant delivery. Uber itself does not provide transportation or delivery services. Uber’s head offices are primarily located in the Netherlands. David Heller, a resident of Ontario, has been licensed to use the Uber driver app (UberEATS) to deliver food in Toronto since February 2016. He has never used the app to provide personal transportation services. In order to use the driver app, Mr. Heller had to meet certain criteria and accept Uber’s licensing agreement. That agreement states that it is governed by the law of the Netherlands and it includes an arbitration clause stating that disputes connected to the agreement shall be resolved by arbitration in Amsterdam. Mr. Heller brought a proposed class action on behalf of Uber drivers alleging that they were employees of Uber and entitled to benefits under Ontario’s Employment Standards Act, SO 2000, c. 41. Uber brought a motion to stay Mr. Heller’s proposed class action in favour of arbitration which was granted by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. The Court of Appeal for Ontario granted the subsequent appeal on the basis that the arbitration clause amounted to an illegal contracting out of Ontario’s employment standards and that the arbitration clause was unconscionable.

Senate of Canada

·      Fixed sitting days this week: June 22, 23, 25 & 26

Canadian House of Commons

• No sitting days this week
• Upcoming committee meetings:
  • [INDU] (June 22, 2020) Industry, Science and Technology: Committee Business
  • [SECU] (June 23, 2020) Public Safety and National Security: Meeting Requested by Four Members of the Committee to Discuss their Request to Undertake a Study of the Issue of Systemic Racism in Policing in Canada

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 22 – June 26, 2020

• Broadcasting Decisions:
  Applications by various licensees to renew the broadcasting licences for various television services

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 (June 22, 2020 – July 13, 2020)
• 2019-217 Co-development of a new Indigenous Broadcasting Policy (Mar 31, 2020 deadline)

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