Archive for November, 2009

Billy Bragg on Music and Copyright

Billy Bragg and Charlie Angus hosted a press conference last week that included Safwan Javed of Wide Mouth Mason (and the Canadian Music Creators Coalition) and Don Quarles of the Songwriters Association of Canada.  The event attracted some media attention and a video of the event has now been posted […]

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November 25, 2009 Comments are Disabled News

Weatherall on ACTA in Australia

Kim Weatherall has published an updated Australian analysis of what ACTA would mean in that country.

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November 25, 2009 Comments are Disabled News

Court Orders Rogers To Stop Network Reliability Claims

A B.C. court has ordered Rogers to stop advertising claims that it has "Canada's Most Reliable" wireless network. The ruling came following a lawsuit launched by Telus challenging the claims.

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November 25, 2009 3 comments News

Government Introduces Mandatory Child Porn Reporting Law

Justice Minister Rob Nicholson today tabled the Child Protection Act (Online Sexual Exploitation).  As widely reported, Bill C-58 creates a mandatory disclosure requirement on Internet providers where they become aware of child pornography websites or have reason to believe a subscriber is using their service to violate child pornography laws.  Where an Internet provider submits a report on a user, they must preserve the relevant computer data for 21 days and they are prohibited from disclosing the disclosure to the customer.  Failure to report may result in fines or imprisonment and providers are granted immunity from liability for reporting the activity.  The definition of Internet provider is broad, extending beyond just ISPs to include those providing Internet access, hosting, or email services.  In other words, services like Google, Hotmail, and Facebook are all covered.

The bill shares similarities with provincial laws (ie. Ontario) and those that report under the provincial law are exempt from the federal version.  While few will criticize a bill targeting child pornography – everyone agrees that child pornography is abhorrent and we need to ensure that we have laws to deal with the problem – it is hard to see what this bill actually accomplishes.  Canada already has:

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November 24, 2009 27 comments News

Opposition Mounts in Europe To Three-Strikes Proposals

Multiple reports today indicate that opposition is growing in Europe to plans for three-strikes policies that could lead to the termination of Internet access for some subscribers.  In the U.K., protests are mounting over those plans in the recently introduced Digital Economy Bill.  The BBC reports that thousands of people have signed a petition urging the government to reconsider its approach, while the Open Rights Group says it has seen a big spike in membership.  The UK's Internet Service Provider Association has unsurprisingly voiced its opposition, stating "rather than focusing blindly on enforcement, the government should be asking rights holders to reform the licensing framework so that legal content can be distributed online to consumers in a way that they are clearly demanding."  The Telegraph reports popular author Stephen Fry has lent his support to opposing the bill, vowing to urge people to sign the petition until a million people have signed on.

Meanwhile, European Union Telecom Commissioner Vivianne Reding has warned Spain against adopting a three-strikes model without a procedure before a judge.  Reding added:

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November 24, 2009 2 comments News