Newsletter: August 11, 2020

Weekly News (August 11, 2020)
Compiled by Emmanuel Appiah with Sara Bannerman
McMaster University, Communications Governance Observatory

(August 4-August 10, 2020)

Canadian News

• [PRIVACY/COVID-APP] Alberta to adopt national COVID-19 exposure app (The Globe and Mail)
• [PERSONAL INFORMATION] Liberals turn over docs on WE decision (The Toronto Star)
• [ACCESS TO INFORMATION] Government officials claimed Ontario police were investigating military efforts to allegedly hide documents in Mark Norman case — that turned out to be false (National Post via Ottawa Citizen)
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS]  Cellphones handle emergency alerts inconsistently depending on model and brand: CRTC study (The Globe and Mail)
• [PRIVACY/PLATFORM REGULATION] TikTok sale puts Canada between Trump and China, again, experts say (The Toronto Star)
• [INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY]CSIS warns about China’s efforts to recruit Canadian scientists (The Globe and Mail)
• [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] Professor’s suspension a violation, group argues; ‘Academic freedom’ (The National Post)

International News

• [PRIVACY/WORKPLACE SURVEILLANCE] Barclays being probed by UK privacy watchdog on accusations of spying on staff (Reuters)
• [PRIVACY/US-CHINA RELATIONS] US sanctions pro-China leader of Hong Kong, other officials (The Globe and Mail)
• [PRIVACY/ADVERTISING] Ad industry forms group to create standards for targeted  ads (Reuters)
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY] White House to Retool Pentagon Airwaves for 5G Networks (The Wall Street Journal)
• [PRIVACY/NATIONAL SECURITY] NSA Warns Cellphone Location Data Could Pose National-Security Threat (The Wall Street Journal)
• [PRIVACY] U.S. Government Contractor Embedded Software in Apps to Track Phones (The Wall Street Journal)
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS] Amazon Satellites Add to Astronomers’ Worries About the Night Sky (The New York Times)
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS/US-CHINA RELATIONS] Huawei: Smartphone chips running out under US sanctions (The Globe and Mail)
• [PRIVACY/US-CHINA RELATIONS] Trump Executive Orders Target TikTok, WeChat Apps (The Wall Street Journal)
• [PRIVACY/COVID-APP] Va.’s virus app is a test, but not of what you think (The Washington Post)
• [PRIVACY] Privacy measure pits consumer advocates against each other (The Washington Post)
• [CENSORSHIP] Denmark angry at Google censorship of some Danish content, seeks talks (The Globe and Mail)
• [DEFAMATION] Judge dismisses Rep. Nunes’ lawsuit over Iowa farm story (The Associated Press via The Canadian Press)
• [CENSORSHIP/FREEDOM OF PRESS] Abductions, Censorship and Layoffs: Pakistani Critics Are Under Siege (The New York Times)

(August 4-August 10, 2020)

Canadian Heritage

• Minister Guilbeault Announces Appointment to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights

Competition Bureau

• Competition Bureau safeguards competition in markets essential to the delivery of electricity and internet to Canadians

Canadian Intellectual Property Office

• New IP Agent Search tool now available to help businesses find registered agents [2019-08-07]

Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

• OPC releases results of investigation into complaint about outsourcing of bank’s fraud claim processing

Copyright Board of Canada

• SOCAN Tariff 1.B (2018-2021: Reasons (August 7, 2020); Tariff (August 8, 2020)

Google

• In support of interoperability

Twitter

• New labels for government and state-affiliated media accounts

Facebook

• July 2020 Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior Report

CRTC

News Releases:

• Broadcasting decision 2020-246
  [2020-08-07 11:00:00]
  APPROVED – Canadian Broadcasting Corporation – Regina and Prince Albert, Saskatchewan – Application to amend the broadcasting licence for the French-language radio station CBKF-FM Regina to operate a new transmitter in Prince Albert to rebroadcast the programming of its national network service ICI Radio-Canada Première
• Telecom order 2020-245
  [2020-08-06 11:00:00]
  Streamlined Order – The Commission approves on a final basis the following tariff application: Bell MTS, a division of Bell Canada TN 825
• Telecom order 2020-244
  [2020-08-06 11:00:00]
  Streamlined order – The Commission approves on an interim basis the following tariff applications: Bell Canada TNs 7616 and 7616A

Senate of Canada

• No sitting days this week

Canadian House of Commons

• Planned & Possible sitting days this week: The House is adjourned until Wednesday, August 12, 2020 at 12:00 p.m. 

Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics (ETHI):

•     Safeguards in Place to Prevent Conflicts of Interest in Federal Government Expenditure Policies: Tuesday, August 11, 2020, 12:30pm to 6:00pm

 Supreme Court of Canada

• [Search and Seizure] Greg Roy v. Her Majesty the Queen (Ont.) (Criminal) (By Leave)

 CRTC

      Broadcasting Regulatory Policies

•  2020-192 – Revised Exemption Order Respecting Teleshopping Programming Service Undertakings
• 2020-4 – Revised list of non-Canadian programming services and stations authorized for distribution – Annual compilation of amendments

        Telecommunications Regulatory Policies

• 2020-66 – Forbearance from the regulation of Canadian telecommunications common carriers’ international telecommunications service agreements and arrangements for the carriage of traffic into or out of Canada – Public record: 1011-NOC2019-0326
• 2020-40 – Review of the price cap and local forbearance regimes – Public record: 1011-NOC2018-0214

Open Proceedings

• CRTC Open Broadcasting Proceedings
• CRTC Open Telecom Proceedings

Anticipated releases for the week of August 10-14, 2020

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.

            Broadcasting Decisions:

• Applications by various licensees to renew the broadcasting licences for various radio and television stations
• Decision relating to the following application considered under the Commission’s Part 1 process:
• Durham Radio Inc.
  CKLK-FM Grimsby and Beamsville – Technical changes
  Public record for this application: 2019-0620-8

             Telecommunications Decision:

• Iris Technologies Inc. and TELUS Communications Inc. – Applications for final relief regarding the termination of traffic to certain 867 numbering plan area telephone numbers
  Public records: 8663-J64-201806019 and 8663-T66-201805722

Open Public Consultations:

• Call for comments – Review of the approach to rate setting for wholesale telecommunications services (New deadline: August 13, 2020)
• Political Communications in Federal Elections (August 21, 2020 deadline)

• • Call for comments – Accessibility – mobile wireless service plans that meet the needs of Canadians with various disabilities (August 31, 2020 deadline)
  • Call for comments – Appropriate network configuration for disaggregated wholesale high-speed access services (September 9, 2020 deadline)·