Columns

Spam Not Gone, But Increasingly Forgotten

My weekly Law Bytes column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) takes stock of the battle against spam one year after Canada’s National Task Force on Spam submitted its report. The column notes that while filtering has become more effective, first impressions can be deceiving. Global spam volume continues to increase, with recent surveys indicating that 80 percent of all e-mail is now spam. Spam has also become far more dangerous as many messages secretly contain viruses or other hidden programs that can unwittingly turn ordinary Internet users with broadband connections into large-scale spammers.

Unfortunately the Canadian legal framework has failed to keep pace with the new spam-related concerns.

May 3, 2006 — 3 comments — Columns

Industry Associations Not Immune to Tech Effect

My weekly Law Bytes column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) examines the recent resignations of six leading Canadian independent record labels from the Canadian Recording Industry Association as part of a larger trend of pressure on longstanding industry associations. In that regard, the column discusses the CCTA's decision to disband […]

April 24, 2006 — Comments are Disabled — Columns

The Legal Limits of Government Tinkering With Technology

My weekly Law Bytes column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) uses the recent French Parliament law involving interoperability and Apple's DRM as the basis for a discussion of governments that tinker with technology through regulation. The law should be understood as a logical reaction to mounting consumer frustration with technological limitations on their purchases and a desire for balance in copyright.

Although the French law may appear to be unique, many governments regularly tinker with technology through regulation. For example, the Liberal government last year introduced "lawful access" legislation that would have required Internet service providers to dramatically overhaul their networks by inserting new surveillance technologies. Similarly, the U.S. established "broadcast flag" requirements that would have mandated the inclusion of copy-controls within a wide range of electronic devices (a court struck the requirements down as unconstitutional).

Moreover, experience demonstrates that the private sector may not respond to consumer demands to offer compatible products. The satellite radio market provides a recent example, with the two major providers – XM and Sirius – steadfastly refusing to offer a device that supports both services despite the fact that they have jointly developed just such a product.

With government intervention looming as a possibility and the private market unlikely to resolve compatibility concerns, what principles should regulators adopt to provide all stakeholders with greater certainty about the appropriate circumstances for lawmakers to tinker with technology?

April 18, 2006 — 3 comments — Columns

The Internet Way To Address Canada’s Cultural Deficit

The departure of six leading indie labels from CRIA is timely given that my Lawbytes column this week (Ottawa Citizen version, homepage version) focuses on Canada's growing cultural deficit. Late last month Statistics Canada released data on Canadian trade in cultural services. The data tracks the import and export of cultural services such as film production, television broadcasts, and music royalties. The latest report reinforces the economic importance of cultural services – imports and exports total nearly $5 billion per year in Canada – as well as the apparent inability to reduce the "culture deficit." That deficit, which reflects the gap between the amount of money flowing out of the country relative to the amount coming in, now stands $546 million dollars, up from $477 million the year before.

Virtually the entire deficit stems from copyright royalties and broadcasting fees. The copyright royalty deficit, which stands at $358 million, comes from nearly every cultural sector. Two dollars of copyright royalties exit the country for every one that enters in the writing market, three dollars exit for every one in the music industry, and four dollars exit for every one in the film industry. The broadcasting industry is the most lopsided. Reflecting the enormous popularity of U.S. television shows in Canada and the limited success of Canadian television productions outside the domestic market, Canada faces a broadcasting fee deficit of $363 million as well as a broadcasting copyright royalty deficit of $150 million.

The growing deficit signals the need for industry leaders and policy makers to rethink how Canada develops and promotes cultural services.

April 13, 2006 — 2 comments — Columns

ICANN Faces Pressure From Friends and Foes

My latest Law Bytes column (Toronto Star version, BBC version, homepage version) highlights the growing frustration with ICANN’s accountability and transparency. The column highlights the many policy issues associated with Internet governance and notes that over the past month even ICANN’s most ardent supporters have begun to express doubts about the organization' s lack of transparency and accountability.

April 4, 2006 — Comments are Disabled — Columns