Archive for December, 2015

Betfair & PaddyPower by Jim Makos (CC BY-ND 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/yjZYAJ

Quebec Law Would Violate First Rule of the Canadian Internet

If there is a first rule of the Internet in Canada, it is “thou shall not block.” Canadian Internet service providers face a wide range of policies that have implications for accessing content including net neutrality rules and the copyright notice-and-notice system. Yet in virtually all cases, blocking or removing content is simply not done (the lone exception is a limited, private sector led initiative to block child pornography images).

My weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) notes that unlike other countries which have dabbled in mandated takedowns or Internet filtering, Canada has largely defended an “open Internet”. Canadian law does not mandate that Internet providers take down content due to unproven allegations of copyright infringement or allow them to alter or change content. In fact, the Telecommunications Act stipulates that “a Canadian carrier shall not control the content or influence the meaning or purpose of telecommunications carried by it for the public.”

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December 2, 2015 16 comments Columns

Quebec’s Online Gambling Law Threatens Canada’s Open Internet

Appeared in the Toronto Star on November 30, 2015 as Quebec’s Online Gambling Law Threatens Canada’s Open Internet If there is a first rule of the Internet in Canada, it is “thou shall not block.” Canadian Internet service providers face a wide range of policies that have implications for accessing […]

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December 2, 2015 3 comments Columns Archive