Weekly News (January 10, 2023)Compiled by Brad McNeil, Kyle Wyndham-West, and Beatrice Sunderland, with Sara Bannerman  and Fenwick McKelveyMcMaster University, Communications Governance Observatory

Canadian News

December 21-31, 2022

• [TELECOM OWNERSHIP/COMPETITION] Competition Bureau to appeal tribunal decision allowing Rogers’s proposed Shaw takeover to proceed (The Globe and Mail)
• [TELECOM OWNERSHIP/COMPETITION] Rogers-Shaw decision raises challenges for Competition Bureau (The Globe and Mail)
• [TELECOM OWNERSHIP/COMPETITION] Competition commissioner says reform needed to shake up Canada’s ‘concentrated economy,’ oligopolies (The Globe and Mail)
• [PRIVACY] How Fortnite maker’s $520M settlement in the U.S. shows Canada has fallen behind in protecting kids’ privacy (Toronto Star)
• [ACCESS TO INFORMATION] Federal access-to-information requests are rising – and government can’t keep up, Treasury Board says (Globe and Mail)
• [DEFAMATION] ‘Freedom Convoy’ lawyer sued for defamation (Toronto Star)
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] Researchers warn of bias as Montreal health network to use AI to reduce wait times (Toronto Star)
• (ONLINE ACCESSIBILITY) The internet doesn’t have to be impossible to navigate for Canadians with disabilities  (National Post)
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] [PRIVACY] Opinion: Stephen Marche: Canada’s new artificial intelligence laws in Bill C-27 are not very intelligent (Globe and Mail)
• [ONLINE HARMS] Opinion: Supriya Dwivedi: Stop prioritizing the profits of Big Tech over the mental and physical health of our kids (Toronto Star)

January 1-10, 2023

• [TELECOM OWNERSHIP/COMPETITION] Rogers-Shaw deal approved because Freedom Mobile sale expected to create ‘more aggressive’ wireless competitor, tribunal says (The Globe and Mail)
• [TELECOM OWNERSHIP/COMPETITION] Final Rogers-Shaw decision could be a political one, but Conservative stance still unknown  (National Post)
• [TELECOM OWNERSHIP/COMPETITION] Faire infirmer le jugement sera une « tâche ardue », dit un expert (La Presse)
• [CONTENT DIVERSITY] Canadian Heritage working on ‘international framework’ for online content diversity  (National Post)
• [COPYRIGHT POLICY]Canada extends copyright protection another 20 years to meet new trade obligation (The Globe and Mail)
• [BROADCAST REGULATION] Quebecers are listening to less local music; artists hope Bill C-11 will change that (CBC)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION] [ONLINE ADVERTISING] Class-action lawsuit against Facebook claiming discrimination gets the green light (CBC)
• [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE/CONTENT REGULATION] Des milliers de comptes rétablis menacent de faire exploser la désinformation (La Presse)
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE / ONLINE ADS] This image is raising money for a Toronto charity. The only problem? It’s not real  (Toronto Star)
• [PRIVACY] Ransomware group LockBit apologizes saying ‘partner’ was behind SickKids attack (Toronto Star)
• [PRIVACY / PERSONAL INFORMATION] Ontario computer repair shops accessed customers’ personal data, women affected most, study shows (The Globe and Mail)
• [ACCESS TO INFORMATION] 105 jours pour répondre à 5 questions: la Ville de Montréal cancre de la transparence (Le journal de Montréal)
• [INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES] Newly appointed Order of Canada member works tirelessly to preserve Indigenous languages (The Globe and Mail)
• [ONLINE HARMS] Opinion: ‘Freedom Convoy’ protests had Mélanie Joly and other foreign ministers all worried about the same thing (Toronto Star)
• [BROADCASTING POLICY] Opinion: Canadian Content is on the table — here’s why it matters (Toronto Star)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION] Opinion: With tumbling stocks, the tech giants are weak – 2023 is the year for Canada to regulate (The Globe and Mail)
• [TELECOM OWNERSHIP/COMPETITION] Opinion: Competition Bureau’s fight over Rogers deal is costing taxpayers millions in legal fees (The Globe and Mail)
• [TELECOM OWNERSHIP/COMPETITION] Opinion: Rogers-Shaw decision sets a worrying precedent for future takeovers (The Globe and Mail)

International News

December 21-31, 2022

• [PLATFORM REGULATION] U.S. House  blocks TikTok on official devices (The Washington Post)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION] Tik Tok bans haven’t really banned much of anything (The Washington Post)
• [PRIVACY] ByteDance Inquiry Finds Employees Obtained User Data of 2 Journalists (New York Times)
• [PRIVACY] Tech companies may have to turn over research data if bipartisan bill passes (The Washington Post)
• [PRIVACY LAWSUIT] Google, YouTube content providers must face U.S. children’s privacy lawsuit (Reuters)
• [PRIVACY] [CRYPTO] Crypto Bankruptcies Chip Away at Customers’ Anonymity  (The Wall Street Journal)
• [PRIVACY] [ACCESS TO INFORMATION] Meta to Pay $725 Million to Settle Cambridge Analytica Lawsuit (The Wall Street Journal)
• [CENSORSHIP] China’s Censors End Crackdown on Covid-Policy Criticism—of a Certain Kind (The Wall Street Journal)
• [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE / CONTENT REGULATION] Shaddowbanning is real: Here’s how you end up muted by social media (The Washington Post)
• [CENSORSHIP] How to Stand Up to a Dictator — Maria Ressa on the dark arts of disinformation (Financial Times)
• [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE / CONTENT REGULATION] Elon Musk’s Campaign to Win Back Twitter Advertisers Isn’t Going Well (The Wall Street Journal)
• [PRIVACY] Opinion: The Signal App and the Danger of Privacy at All Costs (New York Times)

Week of January 1-10, 2023

• [PLATFORM REGULATION] [PRIVACY] Meta’s Ad Practices Ruled Illegal Under E.U. Law (New York Times)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION] [PRIVACY]Meta dealt blow by EU ruling that could result in data use ‘opt-in’ (The Guardian)
• [PRIVACY] French privacy watchdog fines Apple over personalised ads (Reuters)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION] What Speaker McCarthy means for Silicon Valley (The Washington Post)
• [CENSORSHIP] WhatsApp adds feature to bypass internet censors in repressive regimes (The Washington Post)
• [CENSORSHIP] GOP-Led House to Probe Alleged White House Collusion With Tech Giants (The Wall Street Journal)
• [CONTENT MODERATION] [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] Two years after Jan. 6, Facebook mulls if Trump is still a threat (The Washington Post)
• [CONTENT MODERATION] Twitter Cuts More Staff Overseeing Global Content Moderation (Bloomberg)
• [CONTENT MODERATION] Elon Musk’s Twitter lifts ban on political ads (Reuters)
• [PRIVACY] Twitter’s latest hack is a big one (The Washington Post)
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] New York City blocks use of the ChatGPT bot in its schools (The Washington Post)
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] China, a Pioneer in Regulating Algorithms, Turns Its Focus to Deepfakes (The Wall Street Journal)
• [PRIVACY] [PERSONAL INFORMATION] Opinion: Electronic Court Filings Are a Privacy Nightmare (Wall Street Journal)

(January 2 – 10, 2023)

CRTC

• Today’s Releases – January 10, 2023:
  • Telecom decision: 2023-7 – 9319-4082 Québec inc. (Haute-Vitesse.com) – Failure to become a participant in the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services Inc. – Public record: 1011-NOC2022-0063
  • Broadcasting notice of consultation: 2023-6 – Notice of hearing – 5 April 2023 – Gatineau, Quebec – Deadline for submission of interventions/comments/answers: 9 February 2023
  • Telecom orders:2023-8 – Streamlined order – The Commission approves the following tariff application: TELUS Communications Inc., TN 650, 2023-9 – Streamlined order – The Commission approves on an interim basis the following tariff applications: Northwestel Inc., TN 1171 and TN 1172

Google

• Our ongoing commitment to human rights

Senate of Canada

• There are no planned sitting dates between January 2-10, 2023.

House of Commons

• There are no planned meeting dates between January 2-10, 2023. The next sitting date is planned for January 30, 2023.

CRTC Public Hearings

• January 11, 2021 (previously May 25, 2020) – Gatineau, Quebec
  • To consider the broadcasting applications listed in Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC  2019-379, 2019-379-1, 2019-379-2, 2019-379-3, 2019-379-4, 2019-379-5, 2019-379-6 and 2019-379-7
  • View hearing documents (2019-379)

Open Proceedings

• CRTC Open Broadcasting Proceedings
• CRTC Open Telecom Proceedings

Public Consultations:

• Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada 

 Consultation on the future of competition policy in Canada (Nov 17, 2022 to Feb 27, 2023

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