Weekly Newsletter for January 23, 2024
Weekly News (January 23, 2024)
Compiled by Brad McNeil with Sara Bannerman
McMaster University, Communications Governance Observatory
(January 17-23, 2023)
Canadian News
- [TELECOMMUNICATIONS] Canadians pay more than most for cellphone plans. Some angry MPs are demanding to know why (Toronto Star)
- [INTERNET POLICY/PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] Canada accused of being out of step over moves to stop kids viewing online porn (Globe and Mail)
- [ADVERTISING] Le Parti québécois veut donner de l’« oxygène » aux médias (La Presse)
- [PRESS FREEDOM] Small Quebec village gags local paper and citizens by threatening to sue, cut funding (Globe and Mail)
- [PRIVACY] Regulator’s attempt at mining condo owner data called out (Globe and Mail)
- [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] University of Alberta Indigenous association hosts talk on how to confront residential school denialism (Penticton Herald)
- [CYBERSECURITY] Months after a massive Ontario hospital cyberattack, Bluewater Health struggles to get back online (Globe and Mail)
- [CYBERSECURITY] City eyes changes in wake if online breaches (Toronto Star)
- [CYBERSECURITY] Toronto library begins restoring services following ransomware attack, but some user access won’t be available until February (Toronto Star)
- [CYBERSECURITY] Toronto Zoo says social insurance numbers, addresses of employees stolen in cyberattack (Toronto Star)
- [ONLINE STREAMING ACT/INDUSTRY] Amazon MGM Studios touts multi-year plan for Toronto-based production (Toronto Star)
- [MISINFORMATION/ONLINE NEWS ACT] Why weird ads about Sophie Trudeau, Howie Mandel — and Mary Berg — mean we’re in trouble online (Toronto Star)
- [PUBLIC BROADCASTING] OPINION: Peter MacLeod: We need a radical new approach for the CBC (Hamilton Spectator)
- [ONLINE HARMS/DISINFORMATION] OPINION: Martin Regg Cohn: How do we fight back when technology undermines democracy? (Toronto Star)
- [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] OPINION: John V.L. Nguyen: With AI, Canada cannot risk another Nortel moment (Toronto Star)
- [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] OPINION: Sinead Bovell: AI fake news creations will undermine truthful reporting (Toronto Star)
- [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] OPINION: Donovan Vincent: We have good reason for closing online commenting on Middle East coverage (Toronto Star)
International News
- [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/ELECTIONS]Philippines to propose ASEAN AI regulatory framework, house speaker says (Reuters)
- [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/GOVERNANCE] Climate Took Back Seat as Davos Talks Mostly Focused on Artificial Intelligence (New York Times)
- [PUBLIC BROADCASTING] Polish top court rejects government plan to overhaul public media (Resuters)
- [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/JUSTICE] Talking AI, Supreme Court muses about issues it may pose for judicial system (Washington Post)
- [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/ELECTIONS] FEC to weigh AI limits for political ads, but decision may not happen for months (Washington Post)
- [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/ELECTIONS] OpenAI won’t allow campaigns to use its tech (Washington Post)
- [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/ELECTIONS/DISINFORMATION] OpenAI suspends bot developer for presidential hopeful Dean Phillips (Washington Post)
- [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/ELECTIONS/DISINFORMATION] Fake Biden robocall fuels calls for AI regulation (Washington Post)
- [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/ELECTIONS] Silicon Valley insiders hope to unseat Biden with an AI-backed challenger (Washington Post)
- [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/REGULATION] New York City Passed an AI Hiring Law. So Far, Few Companies Are Following It. The law requires employers to disclose how algorithms screen job candidates (Wall Street Journal)
- [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/GOVERNANCE] US companies and Chinese experts engaged in secret diplomacy on AI safety (Financial Times)
- [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/LABOUR] Precarious conditions of AI ‘ghost workers’ revealed by Google termination of Appen contract, union says (The Guardian)
- [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] Readers Have a Lot of Questions About AI. We Answer Them. (Wall Street Journal)
- [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/DISINFORMATION] AI is destabilizing ‘the concept of truth itself’ in 2024 election (Washington Post)
- [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE]‘Very scary’: Mark Zuckerberg’s pledge to build advanced AI alarms experts (The Guardian)
- [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] Should You Use ChatGPT for Medical Advice? Yes, patients and doctors can use chatbots for certain types of questions, experts say. But beware of the shortcomings. (Wall Street Journal)
- [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] AI bots are everywhere now. These telltale words give them away. (Washington Post)
- [MEDIA FUNDING] Billionaires Wanted to Save the News Industry. They’re Losing a Fortune. (New York Times)
- [PRIVACY] Google warns users Chrome’s incognito mode still tracks data, reports say. What to know. (USA Today)
- [PRIVACY] Google locking down tool that U.S. used for Jan. 6 cases (Washington Post)
- [DEFAMATION] As Trump Treats Trials Like Rallies, Judges Study How to Rein Him In (New York Times)
- [DEFAMATION] Prince Harry Withdraws Libel Claim Against Mail on Sunday Publisher (New York Times)
- [DEFAMATION/PRIVACY] ‘Are We Dating the Same Guy?’ What to know about controversial Facebook groups at center of lawsuit (USA Today)
- [CONTENT MODERATION/MISINFORMATION]Science vs. social media: Why climate change denial still thrives online (USA Today)
- [CONTENT MODERATION/MISINFORMATION] Movement calls Oct. 7 attack a ‘false flag’ (Washington Post)
- [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE/COMPETITION] DOJ and FTC push to investigate Microsoft’s OpenAI partnership- Politico (Reuters)
- [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] OPINION: Editorial Board: When States Try to Take Away Americans’ Freedom of Thought (New York Times)
(January 17 – 23, 2024)
Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
National Film Board
Canadian Security Intelligence Service
Global Affairs Canada
Competition Bureau Canada
Commission for Complaints for Telecom-Television Services
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
- News Releases
- Broadcasting and Telecoms:
- Telecom order 2024-17
[2024-01-18 11:00:00]
Streamlined order – The Commission approves on an interim basis, by majority decision, the following tariff application: Northwestel Inc., TN 1201 - Telecom order 2024-16
[2024-01-17 11:00:00]
Broadband Fund – Change request – Rogers Communications Canada Inc.’s Ontario transport fibre project – Public record: 1011-NOC2019-0372 - Telecom order 2024-15
[2024-01-17 11:00:00]
Streamlined order – The Commission approves on an interim basis the following tariff application : TELUS Communications Inc., TN 661 - Broadcasting decision 2024-14
[2024-01-17 11:00:00]
Golden West Broadcasting Ltd. – Grande Prairie, Alberta – Application to delete conditions of service relating to the specialty (Religious music) format of the English language commercial specialty (Religious music) radio station CJGY-FM Grande Prairie - Telecom order 2024-13
[2024-01-17 11:00:00]
Determination of Costs Award – Determination of costs award with respect to the participation of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre in the proceeding initiated by Distributel Communications Limited – File numbers: 8662-D11-202201424 and 4754-690 - Telecom order 2024-12
[2024-01-17 11:00:00]
Determination of Costs Award – Determination of costs award with respect to the participation of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre in the proceeding initiated by Telecom Notice of Consultation 2023-89 – File numbers: 1011-NOC2023-0089 and 4754-717 - Broadcasting notice of consultation 2024-11
[2024-01-17 11:00:00]
Notice of hearing – 25 March 2024 – National Capital Region – Deadline for submission of interventions/comments/answers: 16 February 2024 - Broadcasting notice of consultation 2024-10
[2024-01-17 11:00:00]
Call for comments on market capacity and the appropriateness of issuing a call for radio applications to serve Vancouver, British Columbia – Public record: 1011-NOC2024-0010
- Telecom order 2024-17
Meta
Microsoft
TikTok
YouTube
Senate of Canada
- The Senate sitting and possible sitting days: Is not sitting January 24 to 30, 2024. Next sitting day is Feb 6, 2024
House of Commons
- The House of Commons sitting and possible sitting days: Is not sitting January 24 to 26, 2024. Next sitting day is Jan 29, 2024
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
- Anticipated releases for the week of December 18 to 20, 2023:
- Upcoming Hearings
- 2023-369 – Notice of hearing – 8 February 2024 – National Capital Region – Deadline for submission of interventions/comments/answers: 18 December 2023
- February 12, 2024 – Gatineau, Quebec
Notice of hearing – Review of the wholesale high-speed access service framework – Telecom Notice of Consultation CRTC 2023-56, 2023-56-1, 2023-56-2, and 2023-56-3.
View hearing documents (2023-56)
Consultations:
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
· Radiocommunication Act Exemption Order (Jammers — Royal Canadian Mounted Police), No. 2024-1 – January 29, 2024
Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
· Biometrics Guidance Consultation – February 16, 2024
Statistics Canada:
· Census Data on Demand (CDOD) program consultative engagement – March 31, 2024
Have a suggestion? Email Sara Bannerman at banners@mcmaster.ca
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