Weekly Newsletter for March 07, 2023

Weekly News (March 07, 2023)

Compiled by Brad McNeil, Kyle Wyndham-West, and Beatrice Sunderland, with Sara Bannerman  and Fenwick McKelvey

McMaster University, Communications Governance Observatory

(February 28 -March 06, 2023)

Canadian News 

• [ONLINE NEWS ACT] Google could face disciplinary action after failing to send internal e-mails and rejecting summons for CEO (The Globe and Mail) 
• [ONLINE NEWS ACT]  Google CEO, U.S. executives disregard summons to appear before House of Commons committee  (National Post)
• [ONLINE NEWS ACT] Des députés fédéraux déclenchent une étude sur le blocage des nouvelles par Google (Le Devoir)
• [ONLINE NEWS ACT] Un nid-de-poule sur l’autoroute de l’information? (Le Devoir)
• [ONLINE NEWS ACT] What is Bill C-18, and how could it affect how Canadians use the internet? (The Globe and Mail) 
• [MISINFORMATION] Misinformation is hard to fight — but Justin Trudeau has options, experts say (Toronto Star)
• [PRIVACY/PERSONAL INFORMATION] TikTok banned on all mobile devices owned by Canadian government, effective Tuesday  (The Globe and Mail)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION] La N.-É., la Saskatchewan et T.-N.-L. bannissent TikTok de leurs appareils gouvernementaux (Le Devoir)
• [PRIVACY/BILL C-27] TikTok slams Ottawa for ban, blames spat between Canada and China (Toronto Star) 
• [PRIVACY] TikTok ban should make companies review social media, device policies, experts say (Toronto Star)
• [PRIVACY] Government agency for monitoring social media could be legacy of Emergencies Act report  (National Post) 
• [INDIGENOUS BROADCASTING] Sandy Lake radio station there to stay after breaking ties with CBC (The Globe and Mail)
• [DEFAMATION/FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] Law meant to protect free speech from abusive libel suits is misused, says Ontario Court of Appeal (The Globe and Mail)
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPETITION] Canada’s big telecoms on buying spree of independent providers, raising competition concerns (The Globe and Mail) 
• [TELECOMUNICATIONS POLICY] Rogers argues wholesale agreements with Vidéotron not unduly preferential in CRTC filing  (Financial Post)
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY] Telecom battle goes public, with Bell accused of ‘abusive’ behaviour for double-billing 911 services (Toronto Star)
• [TELECOMUNNICATIONS/COMPETITION] Telus, Bell customers will see roaming fees jump next week. Will others follow suit? (Toronto Star)
• [COPYRIGHT] U.S. producers sue Anne of Green Gables licensing body for right to put on musical (Toronto Star) 
• [CYBERSECURITY/ELECTIONS] Stay out of our elections, Canada’s foreign affairs minister tells China (Toronto Star) 
• [PRIVACY/CYBERATTACK]Indigo won’t pay ransom after cyberattack from LockBit, malware organization with ties to Russia (The Globe and Mail)
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] What is ‘woke AI’ and why is Elon Musk reportedly building a chatbot to counter it? (Toronto Star) 
• [BILL C-18/ONLINE NEWS ACT]  Opinion: Campbell Clark: Google threatens Canada, because it can (The Globe and Mail)
• [PRIVACY] Opinion: Navneet Alang: It’s not just TikTok. The real problem Canada faces is toothless online privacy laws (Toronto Star)  
• [PRIVACY/PLATFORM REGULATION] Opinion: Andrew Clement: Our privacy watchdog should be funded by firms that handle personal information (The Globe and Mail)
• [PRIVACY/PLATFORM REGULATION] OPINION: Vass Bednar: TikTok ban on government devices is a distraction (Financial Post)
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPETITION/MEDIA OWNERSHIP] OPINION: Andrew Willis: Ottawa’s dithering on Rogers-Shaw is delaying a win for cellphone customers (The Globe and Mail)  
• [INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY] OPINION: Peter Carrescia: Boosting patents won’t solve Canada’s innovation problem (The Globe and Mail)  
• [CYBERSECURITY/ELECTIONS] OPINION: Susan Delacourt: Did foreigners interfere in Canada’s elections? Don’t expect politicians to sort it out (Toronto Star)

International News

• [A.I.] UK Supreme Court hears landmark patent case over AI “inventor” (Reuters)
• [A.I. REGULATION] As A.I. Booms, Lawmakers Struggle to Understand the Technology (The New York Times) 
• [A.I.] AI chatbots may have a liability problem (The Washington Post) 
• [PLATFORM REGULATION] Les États-Unis envisagent des mesures supplémentaires contre TikTok (Le Devoir)
• [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] ACLU urges US lawmakers not to ban TikTok, citing free speech (Reuters) 
• [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION/PLATFORM REGULATION] The resistance to a TikTok ban is growing in Washington ; A crackdown would violate users’ free speech rights, advocates warn. (The Washington Post)
• [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] BBC raids show India’s shrinking media freedom under Modi, some journalists say (Reuters) 
• [COPYRIGHT] The Supreme Court May Force Us to Rethink 500 Years of Art (The New York Times) 
• [COPYRIGHT] if big brands copied their work, what are the artists to do? (The New York Times) 
• [DEFAMATION] Fox News Defamation Case Tests Reach of Press Protections (The Wall Street Journal) 
• [CYBERSECURITY/PLATFORM REGULATION] Make companies liable for software insecurity, top cybersecurity official says ; The idea has long been floated by cybersecurity experts, but it’s been tough to get it off the ground. (The Washington Post) 
• [PRIVACY] Biden Administration Asks Congress to Reauthorize Warrantless Surveillance Law (The New York Times) 
• [PRIVACY] Surveillance program needs new protections, oversight board member says (The Washington Post) 
• [PRIVACY] Why Countries Are Trying to Ban TikTok (The New york Times) 
• [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE/CONTENT MODERATION] Google releases civil rights review, caving to years of pressure (The Washington Post) 
• [HATE SPEECH] YouTube, Facebook and Instagram Gave Platforms to Indian Cow-Protection Vigilante (The Wall Street Journal) 
• [PRIVACY] Cisco Chief Says Tech Products Must Be Made More Secure (The Wall Street Journal) 
• [PRIVACY] Turkey fines TikTok 1.75 mln lira for weak data protection measures  (Financial Times)
• [PRIVACY]  YouTube child data gathering faces UK scrutiny after complaint (Reuters)
• [PRIVACY]  American Firms Race to Meet China’s Data Rule Deadline (The Wall Street Journal) 
• [PLATFORM REGULATION/PRIVACY] China to Create New Top Regulator for Data Governance (The Wall Street Journal) 
• [PRIVACY/BIOMETRIC DATA] OPINION: Jim Harper: Illinois’ biometric privacy law has created a massive liability regime (Chicago Tribune)  
• [PRIVACY/CONTENT MODERATION] OPINION: Bina Venkataraman: A better kind of social media is possible — if we want it   (The Washington Post) 
• [PRIVACY] OPINION: Harvey L. Pitt: Why Would the SEC Want to Read Your Personal Texts? (The Wall Street Journal)

(February 28 -March 7, 2023)

Senate of Canada

• Senate of Canada bans TikTok on Senate-managed devices

Canadian Intellectual Property Office

• CIPO releases its 2023−2028 Business Strategy

Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

• OPC releases new Privacy Act Bulletin on virtual hiring

Microsoft

• The imperative for digital development and public private partnerships in Least Developed Countries

Supreme Court of Canada

• 40317 Glassdoor, Inc. v. Echelon Environmental Inc., Robert Rainford, John Doe (Ont.) (Civil) (By Leave)
  • Courts — Dismissal of proceeding that limits debate — Freedom of expression — Matters of public interest — Whether this Court should clarify the analytical framework for determining what constitutes an “expression that relates to a matter of public interest” — Whether expressions that are properly characterized as “online reviews” should be presumptively considered “expressions that relate to a matter of public interest”.

Senate of Canada

• Planned and Possible Sitting Days: The Senate plans to sit this week.
  • March 7, 2023 9:00 AM ET Transport and Communications Bill S-242, An Act to amend the Radiocommunication Act
  • March 8, 2023 6:45 PM ET Transport and Communications Bill S-242, An Act to amend the Radiocommunication Act
  • March 9, 2023 11:30 AM ET Social Affairs, Science and Technology Examine and report on such issues as may arise from time to time relating to social affairs, science and technology generally

House of Commons

• Planned and Possible Sitting Days: The House of Commons plans to sit this week on March 7,8, 9, 10, 2023.
  • March 8, 2023 Industry and Technology (INDU) 4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. (EST) Bill C-294, An Act to amend the Copyright Act (interoperability)

CRTC

• Anticipated releases for the week of 6 to 10 March 2023:
  • Broadcasting Decision: Piikani Resource Development Ltd., on behalf of Piikani Tsi Nii Ka Sin Broadcasting Association Brocket, Alberta Low-power Indigenous FM radio station in Brocket Public record: 2022-0197-9
• Upcoming Hearing:
  • March 30, 2021 – Gatineau, Quebec: To consider the broadcasting application listed in Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2021-36 View hearing documents (2021-36)
  • April 17, 2023 – Whitehorse, Yukon: Call for comments – Telecommunications in the Far North, Phase II – Telecom Notice of Consultation CRTC 2022-147, 2022-147-1, 2022-147-2 View hearing documents (2022-147)
  • May 27, 2021 – Gatineau, Quebec: To consider the broadcasting application listed in Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2021-114 and 2021-114-1 View hearing documents (2021-114)

Open Proceedings

• CRTC Open Broadcasting Proceedings
• CRTC Open Telecom Proceedings

Public Consultations:

• CRTC
  • Telecom Notice of Consultation CRTC 2023-39 – Call for comments – Development of a regulatory framework to improve network reliability and resiliency – Mandatory notification and reporting about major telecommunications service outages  
• Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
  • Consultation on the future of competition policy in Canada (November 17, 2022 to March 31, 2023) 
  • Strategic Intellectual Property Program Review (November 15, 2022 to March 31, 2023) 
  • Visible minority concept consultative engagement (October 11, 2022 to June 30, 2023) 
  • Consultation on the Spectrum Licence Renewal Process for Wireless Communication Services (WCS) Licences (January 31, 2023 to March 14, 2023)  
  • Consultation on Amending CPC-2-0-20 — Radio Frequency (RF) Fields – Signs and Access Control (January 31, 2023 to March 20, 2023) 
  • Consultation on the Spectrum Licence Renewal Process for Wireless Communication Services (WCS) Licences (January 31, 2023 to March 14, 2023) 

Have a suggestion? Email Sara Bannerman at banners@mcmaster.ca 

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