Newsletter: September 14, 2021

Weekly News (September 14th, 2021)

Compiled by Emmanuel Appiah, Meaghan Wester, and Nick Gertlerwith 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.

(September 8-13, 2021)

Canadian News

• [WEBSITE BLOCKING] Government of Québec appeals Québec Appeal Court decision on site blocking (CARTT)
• [CULTURAL FUNDING/BROADCASTING POLICY] La musique franco en danger dans les radios du Québec (Journal de Montréal)
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS] Chinese-controlled company fights Ottawa’s order to divest assets on security grounds (Toronto Star) (McMaster; York)
• [TELECOM REGULATION/ANTICOMPETITION] BCE opposes Rogers’ takeover of Shaw in CRTC filing, citing broadcast market dominance (Globe and Mail) (McMaster; York)
• [ELECTIONS/INTERNET REGULATION] For years, the Liberals pushed for lower mobile and internet rates. Now they’ve dropped it. What changed? (Toronto Star) (McMaster; York)
• [ELECTIONS/SOCIAL MEDIA REGULATION] Local candidates discuss social media regulation and climate change (Toronto Star) (McMaster; York)
• [PUBLIC BROADCAST] OPINION: Konrad Yakabuski: The CBC’s mandate should be a bigger issue in this election campaign (Globe and Mail)
• [PUBLIC BROADCASTING] OPINION: GUY FOURNIER: Que ferait Justin de Radio-Canada? (Journal de Montréal)

International News

• [PRIVACY/CENSUS] Alabama drops lawsuit challenging Census privacy method(Associated Press News) (McMaster; York)
• [PRIVACY REGULATION] Discontent Simmers Over How to Police EU Privacy Rules(Wall Street Journal) (McMaster; York)
• [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] Twitch sues two people allegedly behind hate raids(Washington Post) (McMaster; York)
• [ELECTIONS/CENSORSHIP] U.S. election regulator dismisses claim that Twitter broke law by blocking story -source (Reuters) (McMaster; York)
• [ANTITRUST/ONLINE MARKETS] D.C. attorney general targets Amazon’s wholesale biz in expanded antitrust suit (Washington Post) (McMaster; York)
• [TECH REGULATION] Biden nominates critic of surveillance software to FTC…(Washington Post) (McMaster; York)
• [DISINFORMATION] Singapore submits bill to fight ‘foreign interference’ (Reuters) (McMaster; York)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION] South Korea is targeting Google’s and Apple’s app stores. U.S. lawmakers are watching. (Washington Post) (McMaster; York)
• [CENSORSHIP/PLATFORM REGULATION] Brazil’s President Bans Social Networks From Removing Some Posts (New York Times) (McMaster; York)
• [CENSORSHIP/PLATFORM REGULATION] Out of power in D.C., Republicans dial up tech offensive in state houses (Washington Post) (McMaster; York)
• [PRIVACY/ DATA LOCALIZATION] U.S. and EU Advance Talks to Preserve Data Transfers (Wall Street Journal) (McMaster; York)
• [PRIVACY] U.S. lawmakers seek $1 bln to fund FTC privacy probes (Reuters)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION] Facebook’s latest attempt to build a crypto empire meets familiar skepticism in Washington (Washington Post) (McMaster; York)
• [CENSORSHIP/NEWS MEDIA] ‘Everything Changed’: Media Face Crackdown (New York Times) (McMaster; York)
• [INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY] Australia to support vaccine waiver after months of pressure from human rights groups (The Guardian) (McMaster; York)
• [MISINFORMATION/PLATFORM REGULATION] Amazon enters Democrats’ crosshairs over Covid-19 misinformation (Washington Post) (McMaster; York)
• [TECH REGULATION] OPINION: Ian McGugan: Are Chinese tech stocks worth the risk amid the crackdown? (Globe and Mail)
• [PRIVACY/ENCRYPTION] WhatsApp to Offer Encryption on Cloud Backups, a New Step in Privacy Arms Race (Wall Street Journal) (McMaster; York)
• [CYBERSECURITY] Apple Issues Emergency Security Updates to Close a Spyware Flaw (New York Times)

(September 8-13, 2021)

 Federal Court of Appeal

• [COPYRIGHT/REVERSE CLASS ACTION] Salna v. Voltage Pictures, LLC – 2021 FCA 176 – 2021-09-08

 

Federal Court of Canada

• [TRADEMARK] Norsteel Building Systems Ltd. v. Toti Holdings Inc. – 2021 FC 927 – 2021-09-08

 

Google

• Collaborating with the UN to accelerate crisis response

 

Facebook

• Introducing Ray-Ban Stories: First-Generation Smart Glasses

 

Amazon

• Whole Foods Market to launch Just Walk Out technology at two locations

 

CRTC

News Releases:

• Telecom order 2021-320
  [2021-09-09 11:00:00]
  Streamlined order – The Commission approves on an interim basis the following tariff applications: Northwestel Inc. TN 1138 and TN 1138A
• Telecom order 2021-319
  [2021-09-09 11:00:00]
  Streamlined order – The Commission approves on a final basis the following tariff application: Northwestel Inc. TN 1131

Senate of Canada  

• Planned & Possible sitting days this week: The Senate is dissolved. 
  The 43^rd Parliament has been dissolved. 

Canadian House of Commons  

• Planned & Possible sitting days this week, with possible extension of sitting hours: The House of Commons is dissolved.

CRTC  

Open Proceedings 

• CRTC Open Broadcasting Proceedings 
• CRTC Open Telecom Proceedings 

Regulatory Policies 

Broadcasting  

• 2021-215 – The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Accessibility Reporting Regulations – Public record: 1011-NOC2020-0124 and 1011-NOC2021-069 

Telecommunications 

• 2021-215 – The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Accessibility Reporting Regulations – Public record: 1011-NOC2020-0124 and 1011-NOC2021-069 

 

Anticipated releases for the week of September 13-17, 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.

Upcoming Hearings

• Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission: Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2021-281 (Rogers-Shaw merger) (Submission deadline: Sept 13, 2021; Hearing: Nov 22, 2021)

Open Public Consultations:

• Canadian Heritage: Fair revenue sharing between digital platforms and news media(Aug 3 – September 15, 2021)
• Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada: Consultation on a Modern Copyright Framework for AI and IoT (July 16-September 16, 2021)
• Canadian Heritage: Government’s proposed approach to address harmful content online (July 29- September 25, 2021)
• Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada: Consultation on Amending Cellular and Personal Communications Services (PCS) Licence Conditions (July 30 – September 28, 2021)
• Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission: Discussion Paper DIS-21-03, Cyber Security and the Protection of Digital Information (July 7 – Oct 7, 2021)