Weekly Newsletter for July 30, 2024

Weekly News (July 30, 2024)

Compiled by Brad McNeil with Sara Bannerman

McMaster University, Communications Governance Observatory

(July 24 – 30, 2024)

Canadian News

• [ONLINE NEWS ACT]  Instagram and Facebook banned news — but some accounts are exploiting a ‘terrible’ loophole, Canadian publishers charge  (Toronto Star) 
• [ELECTIONS/FOREIGN INTERFERENCE] Intelligence task force to monitor all future byelections for foreign interference (CBC) 
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS] ‘Embarrassing’: Yukon premier blasts Bell over service issues (CTV News) 
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS]  Bell Canada president admits ‘congestion’ issues slowed down Yukon cell network  (Toronto Star) 
• [ONLINE STREAMING ACT] CRTC slammed over new tax on music streaming services to fund legacy broadcasting (National Post) 
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS] CRTC pitches in $80M for Nunavik’s fibre optic connection  (Penticton Herald) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] Government chatbots? It’s one possibility under Ottawa’s new AI strategy (National Post) 
• [HATE SPEECH] Montreal mayor warned to act on anti-Israel messages on road signs (National Post) 
• [PRIVACY]  Loblaws customers’ complaints over PC Optimum accounts spark privacy commissioner investigation  (Toronto Star) 
• [CAMPUS PROTEXT/FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] McGill drops injunction case against pro-Palestinian camp after dismantling site (Montreal Gazette) 
• [JOURNALISM] OPINION: Justin LIng:  Justin Trudeau tried to save journalism. This is why he failed  (Toronto Star)
•  [PLATFORM REGULATION] OPINION: John Ibbitson: Pierre Poilievre makes his case for dismantling what the Trudeau government has built (Globe and Mail) 
• [ONLINE NEWS ACT] OPINION: Colette Brin and Sebastien Charlton:  Canadians are using Facebook less as a source of news (The Conversation) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/INDUSTRY] OPINION: Neil Desai: Beware the artificial intelligence trap Big Tech is setting (Globe and Mail) 

International News

• [PLATFORM REGULATION] Justice Dept. asks court to reject TikTok challenge to crackdown law (Reuters) 
• [PLATFORM REGULATION/PRIVACY] TikTok Collected U.S. Users’ Views on Gun Control, Abortion and Religion, U.S. Says (Wall Street Journal) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] China Is Closing the A.I. Gap With the United States (New York Times) 
• [ONLINE HARMS] U.S. Senate passes bill to protect kids online, make tech companies accountable for harmful content (Globe and Mail) 
• [ONLINE HARMS] How the Kids Online Safety Act Was Dragged Into a Political War (New York Times) 
• [ONLINE NEWS] Google inks renewed media bargaining code deals – with a catch ( Financial Review) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE REGULATION/ANTITRUST] Google parent’s partnership with AI startup Anthropic under UK scrutiny (Reuters) 
• [SURVEILLANCE/TARGETED ADVERTISING] FTC Orders 8 Companies To Provide Information On ‘sUrveillance Pricing’ Practices (Associated Press) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE REGULATION] A Kamala Harris Presidency Could Mean More of the Same on A.I. Regulation (New York Times) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/PLATFORM REGULATION] Apple signs on to voluntary US scheme to manage AI risks, White House says (Reuters) 
• [ONLINE HARMS/PLATFORM REGULATION] UK watchdog accuses Apple of failing to report sexual images of children (The Guardian) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/DEEP FAKES] Meta’s Oversight Board says deepfake policies need update and response to explicit image fell short (Associated Press) 
• [ONLINE HARMS/CONTENT MODERATION] Meta oversight board tells company to clean up rules on AI-generated pornography (Reuters) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] When A.I. Fails the Language Test, Who Is Left Out of the Conversation? (New York Times) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/ELECTIONS] Manipulated video shared by Elon Musk mimics Kamala Harris’ voice, raising concerns about AI in politics (Globe and Mail) 
• [CONTENT MODERATION/ELECTIONS] Falsehoods Often Evade Policing on X  (Washington Post) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE REGULATION] Microsoft calls for new laws on deepfake fraud, AI sexual abuse images (Washington Post) 
• [PRIVACY/LAWSUIT] Meta to pay $1.4 billion to settle Texas facial recognition data lawsuit  (Reuters) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE REGULATION] Kamala Harris Faces a Faster, Uglier Version of the Internet (New York Times) 
• [BIG TECH/POLITICS] Trump vs. Harris is dividing Silicon Valley into feuding political camps (Washington Post) 
• [CONTENT MODERATION] Business Is Buzzing Again for the Meme Makers of the Left (New York Times) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/STRIKE] Video game actors are on strike. Here’s what that means (Los Angeles Times)
• [MEDIA OWNERSHIP] The Secret Battle for the Future of the Murdoch Empire (New York Times) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] AI chatbots struggle to keep up with onslaught of breaking political news  (Washington Post) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/SEARCH ENGINES] OpenAI Is Launching Search Engine, Taking Direct Aim at Google (Wall Street Journal) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/LABOR] Will A.I. Upend White-Collar Work? Consider the Hollywood Editor. (New York TImes) 
• [PRIVACY] Apple says Safari protects your privacy. We fact-checked those claims. (Washington Post) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE]  OpenAI rolls out voice mode after delaying it for safety reasons  (Washington Post) 
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS] The U.S. Wanted to Knock Down Huawei. It’s Only Getting Stronger. (Wall Street Journal) 
• [PRIVACY] Google scraps plan to remove cookies from Chrome (Reuters) 
• [DEFAMATION] Trump’s Lawsuit Against ABC and Stephanopoulos Can Move Forward (New York Times) 
• [DATA PRIVACY] A priest sues Grindr after he was outed, his lawsuit says (Washington Post) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] OPINION: Sam Altman: Who will control the future of AI?  (Washington Post) 

(July 24 – 30, 2024)

Supreme Court of Canada

• The Supreme Court of Canada has decided the following leave applications.
  • [DEFAMATION/RESPONSIBLE COMMUNICATION/ANTI-SLAPP] Kenneth Wayne Muzik v. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, et al. – (Manitoba) (Civil) (By Leave) – The application for leave to appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal of Manitoba, Number AI22-30-09766, 2023 MBCA 95, dated November 21, 2023, is dismissed with costs.

Canadian Heritage 

• News Release:
  • Helping Canadians identify misinformation online 

Communications Security Establishment Canada

• News Release:
  • CSE and NSERC to fund research on robust, secure and safe artificial intelligence 

Competition Bureau Canada

• News Release:
  • Competition Bureau to host summit on competition and artificial intelligence this September 

Democratic Institutions

• News Release:
  • Government of Canada announces measures to protect by-elections from foreign interference 

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

• News Release:
  • Canadians to benefit from higher-quality and more competitive telecom services 

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission

• Broadcasting and Telecoms
  • Broadcasting decision 2024-29-1
    [2024-07-30 11:00:00]
    U Multicultural Inc. – Winnipeg, Manitoba – English-language community FM radio station in Winnipeg – Finalization of conditions of service
  • Broadcasting notice of consultation 2024-172
    [2024-07-30 11:00:00]
    Notice of hearing 8 October 2024 – National Capital Region – Deadline for submission of interventions/comments/answers: 29 August 2024
  • Telecom order 2024-171
    [2024-07-29 11:00:00]
    Broadband Fund Payment Order – Approval of Claim Forms – July 2024 – Public record: 1011-NOC2019-0372
  • Broadcasting decision 2024-170
    [2024-07-29 11:00:00]
    Local Radio Lab. Inc. – Toronto, Ontario – Application for authority to change the ownership and effective control of the English-language commercial radio station CIND-FM Toronto by acquiring, by way of the assets necessary to operate it, CIND-FM from Rock 95
  • Broadcasting decision 2024-169
    [2024-07-26 11:00:00]
    Consumers’ Association of Canada (Manitoba); Consumers Council of Canada; Forum for Research and Policy in Communications; Option consommateur; Public Interest Advocacy Centre; and Union des consommateurs – Across Canada – Application to reopen Broadcasting Decision 2022-76, or otherwise require Rogers to accelerate its tangible benefits payments to the BPF
  • Telecom order 2024-168
    [2024-07-26 11:00:00]
    Streamlined order – The Commission approves on a final basis the following tariff applications: Télébec, Société en commandite, TN 555, TN 555A and TN 555B
  • Telecom order 2024-167
    [2024-07-26 11:00:00]
    Streamlined order – The Commission approves on an interim basis the following tariff applications: OpenMobile Inc., TN 1, TN 1A and TN 1B
  • Telecom notice of consultation 2023-89-2
    [2024-07-25 11:00:00]
    Call for comments – Broadband Fund policy review – Announcement of separate process for co-development of Indigenous stream – Public record: 1011-NOC2023-0089
  • Telecom decision 2024-166
    [2024-07-25 11:00:00]
    Canadian Telecommunications Contribution Consortium Inc. – Application for approval of the renewal of the National Contribution Fund administrator – Public record: 8695-C211-202306852

Meta

• Open Source AI Is the Path Forward 

OpenAI 

• Improving Model Safety Behavior with Rule-Based Rewards 

Microsoft

• Protecting users and reaffirming our commitment to combatting cyber mercenaries 

Senate of Canada

• The Senate sitting and possible sitting days:  The Senate will not be sitting the week of July 29 – August 2, 2024. The next scheduled sitting day is September 17, 2024.

House of Commons

• The House of Commons sitting and possible sitting days:  The House of Commons will not be sitting the week of July 29 – August 2, 2024. The next scheduled sitting day is September 16, 2024.

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission

• Anticipated releases for the week of 22 to 26 July 2024:
  • The CRTC plans to issue the following decisions and/or regulatory policies in the week of 29 July to 2 August 2024. This is subject to change without notice. 
    • Local Radio Lab Inc. Toronto, Ontario CIND-FM Toronto – Change in ownership and effective control – Public record: 2023-0565-6 

• Upcoming Hearings
  • September 14, 2023 – National Capital Region
    To consider the broadcasting applications listed in Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2023-206, View hearing documents (2023-206)
• CRTC Open Broadcasting Proceedings
• CRTC Open Telecom Proceedings

Consultations:

Spectrum Management Consultations

•  Consultation on a Policy, Licensing and Technical Framework for Supplemental Mobile Coverage by Satellite  – Closing date for comments: September 13, 2024. Closing date for reply to comments: October 25, 2024

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

• Right to Repair Consultation – Closing date for comments: September 26, 2024. 

• Consultation on Artificial Intelligence (AI) Compute – Closing date for comments: September 6, 2024  

• Consultation on a Policy, Licensing and Technical Framework for Supplemental Mobile Coverage by Satellite – closing date for comments: September 13, 2024 

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission

• Call for comments on the Independent Local News Fund – Deadline for submission of comments: 6 September 2024 

• Share your thoughts about Google’s exemption application under the Online News Act

• Broadcasting and Online News Act notice of consultation 2024-143-1 [2024-07-09 11:00:00] Call for comments – Application for exemption from the Online News Act by Google – Extension to the deadlines for the submission of documents requested in question 10, of comments and of replies
  • New deadline for submission of documents requested in question 10: 15 July 2024
  • New deadline for submission of comments: 6 August 2024
  • New deadline for submission of replies: 19 August 2024

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

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