Newsletter: September 21, 2021

Weekly News (September 21st, 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 14-20, 2021)

Canadian News

• [INTERNET REGULATION] Federal Court agrees to hear TekSavvy’s appeal of CRTC decision on wholesale broadband rates (Globe and Mail) (McMaster; York)
• [TELECOM REGULATION] Corus says Rogers-Shaw deal would cause funding hit to local news stations (Globe and Mail) (McMaster; York)
• [CULTURAL FUNDING/INTERNET POLICY] Débat électoral sur la culture; Le numérique au premier plan (La Presse)
• [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION/ELECTIONS] Trudeau, O’Toole, Singh call for apology over Bill 21 English debate question (Globe and Mail)
• [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE/ POLITICAL COMMUNICATION] Ces pages Facebook qui tentent d’influencer le vote (Le Devoir)
• [AI/NATIONAL SECURITY] Canada left out as U.S., U.K., Australia strike deal to counter China (Globe and Mail)  (McMaster; York)
• [ACCESS TO INFORMATION/ JOURNALISTIC NORMS] OPINION: Veilleux: Maintenir Rebel News derrière un cordon sanitaire (Le Devoir)
• [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION/RELIGIOUS SYMBOLS] OPINION: Kinsinger: The shame of not standing against Bill 21 (National Post)
• [PRIVACY/ELECTION] OPINION: Bannerman/Dubois/Zhan/Kalinina/ Goodman: Electronic tracking of voters is a thorny topic in a tight federal election race (National Post) (McMaster; York)

 

International News

• • [COVID VACCINE WAIVERS] The Guardian view on vaccines for all: share them now(Guardian)
  • [FREEDOM OF INFORMATION] At the Supreme Court, a Plea to Reveal Secret Surveillance Rulings(New York Times) (McMaster; York)
  • [AI/HUMAN RIGHTS] U.N. official urges moratorium on AI techniques that breach human rights (Washington Post) (McMaster; York)
  • [PRIVACY] Ireland raises privacy question over Facebook smart glasses (Reuters) (McMaster; York)
  • [PRIVACY] TikTok’s lead EU regulator opens two data privacy probes (Reuters) (McMaster; York)
  • [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] German far-right party allowed to keep ‘Hang the Greens’ ads (St. Catherine Standard) (McMaster; York)
  • [PRIVACY] Departing U.K. Privacy Regulator Wants Global Consensus on Data Disputes (Wall Street Journal) (McMaster; York)
  • [LAWFUL ACCESS] The new warrant: how US police mine Google for your location and search history (Guardian)
  • [FACIAL RECOGNITION] Australia’s two largest states trial facial recognition software to police pandemic rules (Reuters) (McMaster; York)
  • [DEFAMATION/SEXUAL VIOLENCE] China’s censors go to work after dismissal of #MeToo case (Washington Post) (McMaster; York)
  • [DEFAMATION] Judge rejects delay to defamation suit against Donald Trump(Associated Press News) (McMaster; York)
  • [PRIVACY/CONSUMER DATA] DoorDash sues New York City over rights to customer data (Reuters)  (McMaster; York)
  • [DEFAMATION] A Chess Pioneer Sues, Saying She Was Slighted in ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ (New York Times) (McMaster; York)
  • [PRIVACY LAW/BIOMETRICS] One U.S. state stands out in restricting corporate use of biometrics: Illinois (Reuters) (McMaster; York)
  • [CHILDREN’S PRIVACY] Beeban Kidron v Silicon Valley: one woman’s fight to protect children online (Guardian)
  • [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] Human rights advocates decry Apple, Google decision to pull Navalny app as Russia voting begins(Washington Post) (McMaster; York)
  • [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] Facebook Employees Flag Drug Cartels and Human Traffickers. The Company’s Response Is Weak, Documents Show. (Wall Street Journal) (McMaster; York)
  • [MISINFORMATION] Facebook steps up fight against climate misinformation – but critics say effort falls short (Guardian)
  • [TECH REGULATION] Americans have little trust in online security: AP-NORC poll(Associated Press News) (McMaster; York)
  • [PATENT] Patent claim by Calgary warehouse robot-maker Attabotics should be dismissed, U.S. rival says (Globe and Mail) (McMaster; York)
  • [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] OPINION: Will: Facebook, Google and Twitter are the new ‘oligarchy of speech’ (Washington Post) (McMaster; York)

(September 14-20, 2021)

Federal Court of Appeal

• [COPYRIGHT/SITE BLOCKING] Teksavvy Solutions Inc. v. Bell Media Inc. – 2021 FCA 181 – 2021-09-14
• [PATENT] Seymour v. Canada – 2021 FCA 180 – 2021-09-14

Federal Court of Canada

• [ACCESS TO INFORMATION] Mayrand c. Canada (Revenu national) – 2021 CF 814 – 2021-08-04

Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

• G7 data protection and privacy authorities meet to discuss challenges of regulating in an increasingly digital world (Announcement)
• “Data Free Flow with Trust” (Communique)

Google

• Google at the UN General Assembly

YouTube

• On YouTube’s recommendation system

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:

• Broadcasting decision 2021-324
  [2021-09-17 11:00:00]
  APPROVED – CKUA Radio Foundation – Edmonton and Drumheller, Alberta – Application to change the authorized contours of CKUA-FM-13 Drumheller, a rebroadcasting transmitter of the English-language radio station CKUA-FM Edmonton
• Telecom order 2021-323
  [2021-09-17 11:00:00]
  Streamlined order – The Commission approves on an interim basis the following tariff application: Northwestel Inc. TN 1140
• Broadcasting decision 2021-322
  [2021-09-16 11:00:00]
  APPROVED – Canadian Broadcasting Corporation – Montréal and Mont-Tremblant, Quebec – Application to change the authorized contours of CBF-FM-14 Mont-Tremblant, a rebroadcasting transmitter of the French-language radio station CBF-FM Montréal (ICI Première)
• Broadcasting decision 2021-321
  [2021-09-16 11:00:00]
  APPROVED – Canadian Broadcasting Corporation – Québec and Mont-Tremblant, Quebec – Application to change the authorized contours of CBMF-FM Mont-Tremblant, a rebroadcasting transmitter of the English-language radio station CBVE-FM Québec

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 20-24, 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: 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)