Newsletter: June 8, 2021

Weekly News (June 8th, 2021)

Compiled by Fizza Kulvi and Emmanuel Appiah with Sara Bannerman, Fenwick McKelvey, Guillaume Dandurand, Marek Blottière, and Kevin Morin

McMaster University, Communications Governance Observatory

The Communications Governance Discussion Group meets every few weeks by Zoom.  Email organizer Derek Hrynyshyn <derekh@yorku.ca> for details.

(June 1-7, 2021)

Canadian News

• [BROADCAST POLICY] Conservative protest erupts in House of Commons after Liberals invoke rarely used rule to end Bill C-10 debate (Globe and Mail) (McMaster; York)
• [BROADCASTING POLICY/FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] Bâillon adopté aux Communes pour tenter de sauver C-10 (Le Devoir)
• [BROADCAST POLICY] Revisions to Broadcasting Act won’t cover online porn, heritage minister says (Ottawa Citizen) (McMaster; York)
• [BROADCASTING POLICY/CULTURAL FUNDING] Le projet de loi C-10 « va être un enjeu électoral » (La Presse)
• [TELECOM POLICY] CRTC reversal let Bell boost 5G plan: CEO (The Globe and Mail)
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY] Le CRTC donne raison à Vidéotron contre Bell en Abitibi (Le Journal de Montréal)
• [INTERNET POLICY] Le gouvernement Trudeau tarde à légiférer (La Presse)
• [PRIVACY] Requiring proof of age to look at porn sites raises privacy issues; Senate bill (National Post) (McMaster; York)
• [PRIVACY] Federal prison service improperly listened to inmate calls with lawyers: auditors (Toronto Star) (McMaster; York)
• [COPYRIGHT/INTERNET REGULATION] CIRA warns against website blocking in copyright consultation (Financial Post) (McMaster; York)
• [ACCESS TO INFORMATION] Trudeau not ready to force release of records (Toronto Star) (McMaster; York)
• [BIOMETRICS/E-GOVERNMENT] Canada’s border agency urgently developing biometric plans in response to COVID-19 (Toronto Star) (McMaster; York)
• [DEFAMATION] Un artiste veut l’anonymat pour sa poursuite en diffamation (Le Devoir)
• [CYBERSECURITY] Informatique: des dizaines d’organismes touchés après l’attaque (Le Journal de Montréal)
• [INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY/ FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] Toronto artist settles seven-year suit over online counterfeits (Globe and Mail) (McMaster; York)
• [MEDIA FUNDING/NEWSPAPERS] MLA calls on Ottawa to expand newspaper support (Winnipeg Free Press) (McMaster; York)
• [PATENT] OPINION: Richard Owens: Quebec gets the constitution right (on drug price control) (Financial Post) (McMaster; York)
• [PATENT] OPINION: Barrie Mckenna: Owning IP is nice. Commercializing it is what matters (Financial Post)
• [INTERNET REGULATION] OPINION: Dwayne Winseck: Bill C-10 and the Future of Internet Regulation in Canada (CIGI Online)
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY] Opinion: Mercure: Les « erreurs » de calcul du CRTC (La Presse)
• [TELECOM REGULATION] OPINION: George Burger: Canadians should be outraged at the CRTC for reversing its decision on wholesale internet rates (Toronto Star) (McMaster; York)
• [PUBLIC BROADCAST] OPINION: Tony Burman: The silencing of Radio Canada International and Canada’s shrinking voice in the world (Toronto Star) (McMaster; York)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION] OPINION: Kathryn Dean: Google’s negligence on fake reviews is yet another reason to take action against Big Tech (Toronto Star)
• [CULTURAL FUNDING] Opinion: Mayrand: Agir pour pérenniser la création artistique (La Presse)

International News

• [PERSONAL INFORMATION] Supreme Court to Consider State-Secrets Case Involving FBI Surveillance (Wall Street Journal) (McMaster; York)
• [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION/CENSORSHIP] Pakistani court acquits Christian couple sentenced to death for blasphemy (The Guardian)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION/ANTICOMPETITION] France fines Google for abusing online advertising dominance (The Guardian) (McMaster; York)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION/ANTITRUST] Facebook Faces Two Antitrust Investigations in Europe (New York Times) (McMaster; York)
• [COPYRIGHT] Critics still unhappy as EU clarifies revamped copyright rules(Reuters) (McMaster; York)
• [PRIVACY] More safeguards in revamped EU data transfer tools, EU justice chief says (Reuters) (McMaster; York)
• [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] Facebook to suspend Trump’s account for two years(The Guardian)
• [LIBEL] Philippine court dismisses libel case vs journalist Ressa (Reuters) (McMaster; York)
• [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] Myanmar military court sentences journalists to jail(Washington Post) (McMaster; York)
• [FREEDOM OF PRESS] Trump Administration Secretly Seized Phone Records of Times Reporters (New York Times)
• [INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY] Florida moves against foreign theft of intellectual property (Miami Herald)
• [TRADEMARK] Australian power generator takes Greenpeace to court (Toronto Star) (McMaster; York)
• [ETHICS/SOFTWARE CONTRACTS] Media and data firm Thomson Reuters faces pressure to ditch Ice contracts (The Guardian)
• [ESPIONAGE/SURVEILLANCE] U.S. spied on Merkel and other Europeans through Danish cables – broadcaster DR (Reuters)
• [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION/PLATFORM REGULATION] Nigerian government-enforced Twitter suspension takes effect (Associated Press News) (McMaster; York)
• [BROADCAST REGULATION] Nigeria orders broadcasters not to use Twitter to gather information (Reuters)
• [US-CHINA RELATIONS] Biden Widens Trump-Era Investing Ban on Chinese Firms Linked to Military (New York Times) (McMaster; York)
• [E-GOVERNMENT] Biden Budget Aims Squarely at Modernizing Government Tech(Wall Street Journal) (McMaster; York)
• [CYBERSECURITY] Documents Detail Computer Breach at M.T.A. (New York Times) (McMaster; York)
• [CENSORSHIP] Microsoft says “tank man” image blocking due to human error (Los Angeles Times) (McMaster; York)
• [AI/MILITARY] A.I. Drone May Have Acted on Its Own in Attacking Fighters, U.N. Says (New York Times) (McMaster; York)
• [INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY] Mexico accuses Zara and Anthropologie of cultural appropriation (The Guardian) (McMaster; York)

(June 1-7, 2021)

Supreme Court of Canada

• The Supreme Court of Canada has today deposited with the Registrar judgments in the following leave applications.
• [SEARCH & SEIZURE] Season Alexandre Cardinal Truax v. Her Majesty the Queen (Alta.) (Criminal) (By Leave) (39584) (Dismissed)

Federal Court of Canada

• [TRADEMARK] Sea Tow Services International, Inc. v. Trademark Factory International Inc. – 2021 FC 550 – 2021-06-04
• [TRADEMARK] Apple Inc. v. Waseah (Mobile Q) – 2021 FC 542 – 2021-06-03

US Supreme Court

• [LAWFUL ACCESS] VAN BUREN v. UNITED STATES (June 3, 2021)
• [WARRANTLESS ENTRY] SANCHEZ v. MAYORKAS (June 7, 2021)

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission

• CRTC seeks views on the establishment of a three-digit number for mental health crisis and suicide prevention services

Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

• Appearance before the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs on Bill S-203, An Act to restrict young persons’ online access to sexually explicit material (Advice to Parliament)
• OPC shares views on bill to restrict young persons’ access to sexually explicit material online (Announcement)
• Federal, Provincial and Territorial Information and Privacy Commissioners and Ombudsman Issue Joint Resolution About Privacy and Access to Information Rights During and After a Pandemic (News Release)

 Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada

• Federal, Provincial and Territorial Information and Privacy Commissioners and Ombudsman Issue Joint Resolution About Privacy and Access to Information Rights During and After a Pandemic (News Release)

Microsoft

• Addressing racial and digital inequity
• Hart and Microsoft announce partnership to make elections more secure, verifiable

Twitter

• Introducing Twitter Blue – Twitter’s first-ever subscription offering

Apple

• Apple advances its privacy leadership with iOS 15, iPadOS 15, macOS Monterey, and watchOS 8

YouTube

• $4 billion paid to the music industry in last 12 months

CRTC

News Releases:

• • • Telecom order 2021-193
      [2021-06-04 11:00:00]
      Streamlined order – The Commission approves on an interim basis the following tariff application: Northwestel Inc. TN 1123
    • Telecom decision 2021-192
      [2021-06-04 11:00:00]
      Forbearance from the regulation of high-capacity / digital data services interexchange private line services on certain additional routes – Public record: 8638-S1-01/98
    • Telecom notice of consultation 2021-191
      [2021-06-03 11:00:00]
      Call for comments – Introduction of a three-digit abbreviated dialing code for mental health crisis and suicide prevention services – Public record: 1011-NOC2021-0191
    • Broadcasting decision 2021-190
      [2021-06-02 11:00:00]
      APPROVED – Stingray Group Inc. – Across Canada – Application to change the national English-language discretionary service Stingray HITS into a French-language service
    • Telecom order 2021-189
      [2021-06-02 11:00:00]
      Streamlined order – The Commission approves on a final basis the following tariff application: NorthernTel, Limited Partnership (NorthernTel) TN 406
    • Telecom order 2021-188
      [2021-06-01 11:00:00]
      Câblevision du nord de Québec inc. – Update to its third-party Internet access service – Public record: Tariff Notices 12 and 12A
    • Telecom decision 2021-187
      [2021-06-01 11:00:00]
      Videotron Ltd. – Application against Câblevision du nord de Québec inc. regarding the cost of upgrading routers at points of interconnection for its third-party Internet access service – Public record: 8622-v3-202007525
    • Broadcasting order 2021-186
      [2021-06-01 11:00:00]
      Exemption order respecting still image and low-motion programming service undertakings
    • Broadcasting regulatory policy 2021-185
      [2021-06-01 11:00:00]
      Revised exemption order for still image and low-motion programming services

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 11, 2021. This list is subject to change.
  • [PRIVACY] Estate of Bernard Sherman and the Trustees of the Estate, et al. v. Kevin Donovan, et al. (Ont.) (38695)

Senate of Canada

• Planned & Possible sitting days this week: Tuesday, June 8^th – Friday, June 11, 2021.
  Upcoming Committee Meetings:
  • [LCJC] (June 9, 2021) – Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs: Bill S-203, An Act to restrict young persons’ online access to sexually explicit material (June 9, 2021)

Canadian House of Commons

• Planned & Possible sitting days this week, with possible extension of sitting hours (June 10-11): Tuesday, June 8^th – Friday, June 11, 2021

Upcoming Committee Meetings:

• [CHPC] (June 7) – Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage: Bill C-10, An Act to amend the Broadcasting Act
• [ETHI] (June 7) – Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics: Protection of Privacy and Reputation on Platforms such as Pornhub
• [CACN] (June 7) – Special Committee on Canada-China Relations

CRTC

Open Proceedings

• CRTC Open Broadcasting Proceedings
• CRTC Open Telecom Proceedings

Anticipated releases for the week of May 31 to June 4 2021

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

Broadcasting Regulatory Policy

• Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2021-185 and Broadcasting Order CRTC 2021-186 (June 1, 2021)

 Public Hearings

• To consider the broadcasting application listed in Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2021-165 and 2021-165-1
  View hearing documents (2021-165)  (July 8, 2021)

Open Public Consultations:

• Access to Information Review Public Engagement: Reviewing access to information –https://atiareview.ca (March 31, 2021-July 31, 2021)
• Canadian Radio-television and Telecommuncations Commission: Video Relay Service Review (July 5, 2021)
• Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission: Call for comments – Introduction of a three-digit abbreviated dialing code for mental health crisis and suicide prevention services (June 3- Sept 1, 2021)
• Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat: Reviewing access to information (March 31 – July 31, 2021)