Weekly Newsletter for October 29, 2024

Weekly News (October 29, 2024)

Compiled by Brad McNeil with Sara Bannerman

McMaster University, Communications Governance Observatory

(October 23 – 29, 2024)

Canadian News

• [ONLINE STREAMING ACT] Google gets green light to distribute $100-million to news organizations (Globe and Mail) 
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS] Rogers to raise $7-billion in ‘structured equity’ deal to reduce debt (Globe and Mail) 
• [PUBLIC BROADCASTING] Why the CBC’s new president could be its last; Marie-Philippe Bouchard will succeed Catherine Tait at a moment when the future of the public broadcaster has never been more in doubt  (Globe and Mail) 
• [PUBLIC BROADCASTING]  The CBC’s new boss will inherit a ton of challenges. Here’s what observers say she’s up against  (Toronto Star) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/DEEPFAKES]  Canada’s iconic house hippo is back to fight deepfakes  (Hamilton Spectator) 
• [PLATFORM REGULATION/ONLINE HARMS] Amanda Todd’s family joins American parents in lawsuit against social media giants  (Toronto Star) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/ONLINE HARMS] AI-generated child sexual abuse images are spreading. Law enforcement is racing to stop them (CTV News) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] Fake content is getting harder to detect but Hinton has an idea to make it easier (Winnipeg Sun) 
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS] Why Canada’s telecom sector sees opportunity in satellite internet (CityNews Toronto) 
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS] The Impossibility of Fair Competition for Third-Party ISPs in Canada: The Impact of Unfair Wholesale Rates (Hanover Post) 
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS] Toronto is getting a new area code. Here’s what it is and when it will get here (CTV News) 
• [HATE SPEECH] Some say it’s time for Canada to criminalize residential school denialism  (Winnipeg Free Press) 
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS] Fibre network rates set by CRTC unlikely to trigger competing internet services, some providers say (Globe and Mail)
• [PUBLIC BROADCASTING] Bouchard must build trust as next CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada CEO, say observers (Toronto Star) 
• [PRIVACY] RCMP to pilot body-worn cameras in 7 B.C. communities (CBC) 
• [PRIVACY] OPINION: Howard Levitt: Why spying on your co-workers is no longer just a workplace matter (Financial Post) 
• [PUBLIC BROADCASTING] OPINION: Simon Houpt: CBC boss Catherine Tait’s legacy: A scrappy, imperfect defender of public broadcasting (Globe and Mail) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] OPINION: Yung Wu, Prashant Pathak and Thomas Park: Canada must become the provider of AI infrastructure to the world (Globe and Mail) 
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS] OPINION: Andrew Willis: Where Rogers goes with $7-billion infrastructure sale, Bell and Telus will follow (Globe and Mail) 

International News

• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/ELECTIONS] How Russia, China and Iran Are Interfering in the Presidential Election  (New York Times) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/ENVIRONMENT] The AI boom may unleash a global surge in electronic waste  (Washington Post) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/REGULATION] Regulators reflexively try to strangle disruptive tech. Now it’s AI’s turn. (Washington Post) 
• [PRIVACY] EU privacy regulator fines LinkedIn 310 mln euro (Reuters) 
• [FOREIGN INTERFERENCE/ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/ELECTIONS] Documents link American’s Harris deepfakes to Russia  (Washington Post) 
• [ONLINE HARMS/DISINFORMATION] Tunisian commentator sentenced to two years under controversial anti-fake news law (ABC News) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/MEDIA] Polish radio station abandons use of AI ‘presenters’ following outcry  (Economic Times) 
• [MISINFORMATION/FOREIGN INTERFERENCE] Russian, Chinese and Cuban accounts are amplifying hurricane misinformation, US official says (Reuters) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] US finalizes rules to curb AI investments in China, impose other restrictions (Reuters) 
• [ONLINE HARMS/HATE SPEECH]  7 charged in cyberbullying campaign targeting Paris Olympics’ artistic director (Washington Times) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] White House orders Pentagon and intel agencies to increase use of AI (Washington Post) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/REGULATION] Biden Administration Outlines Government ‘Guardrails’ for A.I. Tools (New York Times) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/FREEDOM OF THE PRESS] Keir Starmer says media firms should have control of output used in AI (The Guardian) 
• [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE/COPYRIGHT] Seeing Potential for Harm, OpenAI Researcher Quit  (New York Times) 
• [DATA PRIVACY] It Has Your Money—and Your Pants Size. Here’s What PayPal Is Doing With Them. (Wall Street Journal) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/PRIVACY] Unable to access therapy, many turn to AI  (Washington Post) 
• [MISINFORMATION/ELECTIONS] Nonprofit bashed by Musk disputes his unfounded election meddling claims  (Washington Post) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] Her teenage son killed himself after talking to a chatbot. Now she’s suing. (Washington Post) 
• [ONLINE NEWS/ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE} Meta Platforms to use Reuters news content in AI chatbot (Reuters) 
• [MISINFORMATION/ELECTIONS] To fight misinfo, news outlets are putting plans in place to combat false election night stories (Associated Press) 
• [PERSONAL INFORMATION/SURVEILLANCE] U.S. Consumer Watchdog Cautions Businesses on Surveillance of Workers (Wall Street Journal) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/ANTITRUST] Google’s $2 Billion Anthropic Investment Faces U.K. Antitrust Scrutiny (Wall Street Journal) 
• [MISINFORMATION/ELECTIONS] Spanish-language election misinformation has a mass audience — and a long shelf life  (Washington Post)  
• [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] As Georgia Decides Its Future, Artists Are Worried About Theirs  (New York Times) 
• [MISINFORMATION/CONTENT MODERATION] Twitter Barred Them. Then Musk Decided To Bring Them Back.  (New York Times) 
• [CONTENT MODERATION/ONLINE HARMS] Kids can now report unwanted nude photos to Apple. Is it a good idea? (Washington Post) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] How Reddit Fits Into the AI World (Wall Street Journal) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] Inside Amazon’s AI Strategy (Wall Street Journal) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/LABOUR] Why Joseph Gordon-Levitt Is Worried About AI (Wall Street Journal) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] OPINION: Ross Douthat: Our Robot Stories Haven’t Prepared Us for A.I. (New York Times) 
• [CENSORSHIP] OPINION: Bernard-Henri Lévy: My First Censorship Experience  (Wall Street Journal) 
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS] OPINION: Chris Stokel-Walker: No, you’re not imagining it – the UK’s 5G connection really is crap  (The Guardian) 
• [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] OPINION: Amy Hamm: Let the terrorists speak, so we know who they are (National Post) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/SEARCH RECOMENDERS] PODCAST:  Reddit’s Role in the Future of the Internet  (Wall Street Journal) 
• [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/REGULATION] PODCAST: U.S. AI Policy Is in a ‘Dangerous Place’ Says VC Martin Casado (Wall Street Journal) 

(October 23 – 29, 2024)

Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

• Speech
  • Concluding joint statement on data scraping and the protection of privacy 
• News Release
  • Global privacy authorities issue follow-up joint statement on data scraping after industry engagement 

Canadian Heritage 

• Media Advisory
  • The Government of Canada supports official-language minority community media across Canada 

Communications Security Establishment Canada

• Top Canadian cyber security body releases flagship guidance for critical infrastructure  

Canadian Security Intelligence

• Five Eyes intelligence partners launch shared security advice initiative for tech companies, researchers, and investors 

Global Affairs Canada

• Global Affairs Canada statement on Russian disinformation 

Innovation, Science and Economic development Canada

• Minister Champagne to participate in the Canada-Italy Forum on Artificial Intelligence
• Federal government launches programs to help small and medium-sized enterprises adopt and adapt artificial intelligence solutions  

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission

• News Release:
  • CRTC sets rates that will allow for greater choice of Internet services
  • CRTC approves Google’s application and paves way for annual $100 million contribution to Canadian news organizations    
• Speech:
  • Scott Shortliffe to the Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications  
• Broadcasting and Telecoms:
  • Broadcasting decision 2024-262
    [2024-10-28 16:00:00]
    Exemption Order from the Online News Act granted to Google
  • Telecom order 2024-261
    [2024-10-25 16:00:00]
    Interim rates for aggregated wholesale high-speed access services over fibre-to-the-premises facilities – Public records: 1011-NOC2023-0056; Bell Aliant Regional Communications, Limited Partnership Tariff Notices 569, 569A, 569B and 569C; Bell Canada Tariff Notices 7664, 7664A, 7664B and 7664C; Bell MTS Inc. Tariff Notices 852, 852A, 852B and 852C; Saskatchewan Telecommunications Tariff Notices 378, 378A and 378B; TELUS Communications Inc. Tariff Notices 583, 583A, 657, 657A, 657B and 657C
  • Telecom order 2024-260
    [2024-10-25 16:00:00]
    Determination of Costs Award – Determination of costs award with respect to the participation of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre in the proceeding initiated by the application by City Wide Communications Inc., Frontier Networks Inc., and Purple Cow Internet Inc. to address the third-party Internet access service outage caused by Bragg Communications Inc., carrying on business as Eastlink – File numbers: 8662-C17-202306365 and 4754-731
  • Telecom order 2024-259
    [2024-10-24 11:00:00]
    Streamlined order – The Commission approves on an interim basis the following tariff application: Bell MTS, a division of Bell Canada, TN 867
  • Telecom order 2024-258
    [2024-10-24 11:00:00]
    Streamlined order – The Commission approves the following tariff application: Bell Canada, TN 7699
  • Telecom order 2024-257
    [2024-10-24 11:00:00]
    Streamlined order – The Commission approves on an interim basis the following tariff application: Bell MTS, a division of Bell Canada, TN 868
  • Telecom order 2024-256
    [2024-10-23 11:00:00]
    Streamlined order – The Commission approves on a final basis, by majority decision, the following tariff application: Northwestel Inc., TN 1219
  • Telecom order 2024-255
    [2024-10-23 11:00:00]
    Streamlined order – The Commission approves on a final basis the following tariff application: Northwestel Inc., TN 1215
  • Telecom order 2024-254
    [2024-10-23 11:00:00]
    Streamlined order – The Commission approves the following tariff application: Quebecor Media Inc., on behalf of Videotron Ltd., TN 47
  • Telecom order 2024-253
    [2024-10-23 11:00:00]
    Streamlined order – The Commission approves the following tariff application: Northwestel Inc., TN 1230

United Nations

•  Alignment of AI in education with human rights frameworks is key  

Microsoft

• Google’s Shadow Campaigns 
• As the U.S. election nears, Russia, Iran and China step up influence efforts 

TikTok

• UnitedMasters and TikTok Celebrate Independent Music Together Through Direct Deal 

YouTube

• Exploring how AI tools can help increase high-quality health content 

Supreme Court of Canada

• Upcoming Hearing
  • [TELECOMMUNICATIONS] Saugeen First Nation, et al. v. Attorney General of Canada, et al.  (Ontario) (Civil) (By Leave) – November 7, 2024 at 9:30 a.m.

Senate of Canada

• The Senate sitting and possible sitting days:  The Senate will be sitting from October 29 to 31, 2024.
  • Meetings:
    • Transport and Communications (TRCM): Study matters relating to transport and communications generally. – Tuesday, October 29, 2024 at 9:00 AM
    • Transport and Communications (TRCM): Study matters relating to transport and communications generally: Local services provided by the CBC/Radio-Canada – Wednesday, October 30, 2024 at 6:45 PM ET 
  • Bills on the Agenda
    • C-294: An Act to amend the Copyright Act (interoperability) – at third reading in the Senate  
    • C-244: An Act to amend the Copyright Act (diagnosis, maintenance and repair) – At third reading in the Senate 
    • C-26: An Act respecting cyber security, amending the Telecommunications Act and making consequential amendments to other Acts – At second reading in the Senate  
    • S-269: An Act respecting a national framework on advertising for sports betting – At third reading in the Senate 
    • S-237: An Act to establish the Foreign Influence Registry and to amend the Criminal Code  – At second reading in the Senate

House of Commons

• The House of Commons sitting and possible sitting days:  The House of Commons will be sitting from October 28 – 31, 2024.
  • Meetings
    • Standing Committee on Public safety and National Security (SECU): Electoral Interference and Criminal Activities in Canada by Agents of the Government of India – Tuesday, October 29, 2024, 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.  
    • Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics (ETHI): Impact of Disinformation and of Misinformation on the Work of Parliamentarians – Tuesday, October 29, 2024, 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
    • Standing Committee on Industry and Technology (INDU): Credit CArd Practices and Regulations in Canada – Thursday, October 31, 2024, 8:15 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.  
  • Bills on the Agenda
    • C-63: An Act to enact the Online Harms Act, to amend the Criminal Code, the Canadian Human Rights Act and An Act respecting the mandatory reporting of Internet child pornography by persons who provide an Internet service and to make consequential and related amendments to other Acts  – At second reading in the House of Commons 
    • C-65: An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act -At consideration in committee in the House of Commons  

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission

• Anticipated Releases:
  • The CRTC plans to issue the following decisions and/or regulatory policies in the week of 25 October to 1 November 2024. This is subject to change without notice.
    • Telecommunications
• Follow-up – Competition in Canada’s Internet service markets

• Upcoming Hearings
  • November 20, 2024 – Gatineau, Quebec
    To consider the broadcasting applications listed in Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2023-138, 2023-138-1 and 2023-138-2, View hearing documents (2023-138)
• CRTC Open Broadcasting Proceedings
• CRTC Open Telecom Proceedings

Consultations:

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission

• Share your thoughts on the guidelines for consultations relating to official language minority communities and official languages- Deadline: October 9, 2024 (November 8, 2024  for members of official language minority communities) 
• Share your thoughts about described video and audio description: Second consultation period – September 19 to November 20, 2024  
• Consultation on closed captioning of programming from online streaming services: second consultation period from September 10 to November 13, 2024  
• Share your thoughts on the proposed code of conduct for bargaining under the Online News Act: End Date – November 7, 2024 

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