Post Tagged with: "union des consommateurs"

The Daily Digital Lock Dissenter, Day 49: Union des consommateurs

Union des consommateurs is one of Canada’s leading consumer advocacy groups. Based in Quebec, it represents consumer interests on a wide range of issues. Union des consommateurs filed a submission to the 2009 national copyright consultation that expressed significant concern with the use of digital locks and their implications for consumer rights, privacy, and freedom of expression.

Dès lors, le Gouvernement se doit de se poser la question d’intégrer spécifiquement de telles dispositions au sein de la Loi sur le droit d’auteur, alors que l’échec des mesures techniques de protection est évident, et que celles-ci seraient déjà protégées dans notre arsenal législatif. Nous avons aujourd’hui le recul nécessaire pour affirmer que la protection légale des mesures techniques de protection est dangereuse pour la vie privée des consommateurs, que bien souvent elle porte atteinte à la liberté d’expression, et qu’elles limitent les utilisations légitimes des oeuvres.

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December 12, 2011 Comments are Disabled News

Union des Consommateurs Files ACTA Protest

Union des Consommateurs has posted a public letter expressing concern over the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement.

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January 11, 2010 Comments are Disabled News

CRTC Network Management Hearing, Day Six: Union des Consommateurs, Rogers, Videotron, Shaw

Day six of the CRTC's network management hearings opened with a final consumer group (Union des Consommateurs) and closed with three of Canada's biggest ISPs – Rogers, Videotron, and Shaw.  Bell was scheduled to appear today but has been pushed back until Tuesday.

The big storyline of the day was the disclosure by Rogers and Shaw of previously undisclosed information.  Rogers revealed its traffic management practices (throttling P2P upload speeds) and shockingly admitted that all its tiers receive the same upload treatment, regardless of the price paid by the consumer.  This is true even though its promotional material tell customers that higher tiered service offer faster upload speeds. Shaw disclosed that it engages in similar practices and provided insight into its throttling practices, noting that it guarantees 80 kilobits per second for throttled P2P sessions and that it reserves 30 percent of its bandwidth for P2P use (it said that 10 percent of its users account for the P2P traffic).
Videotron, the third cable ISP in the mix, complicated the analysis further by noting that it does not traffic shape.  Rather, it uses economic measures, the new euphamism for bit caps, to discourage overuse of P2P.  The ISP indicated that it is very happy with the effectiveness of its approach.

Today's summary was again compiled by Sean Murtha, a law student at the University of Ottawa.  Other coverage available from the National Post liveblog, CBC.ca, the National Post, Cartt.ca, and twitter feeds from CIPPIC and me.

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July 14, 2009 15 comments News

Consumer Groups Seek Tighter Rules on ‘Premium’ SMS Charges

The CBC reports that Union des consommateurs, a non-profit group based in Montreal, is preparing a submission that must be filed with Canada's telecommunications regulator by Monday as part of the group's request for strict rules concerning "premium" text messages.

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March 9, 2009 3 comments News

CRTC New Media Hearings – Day Three: Glassbox, FCB, Union des Consommateurs, IMAA, S-Vox, APTN

Day three of the CRTC’s New Media hearings featured a series of speakers with varied perspectives on new media, old media, and the role of the public (day one, day two).  Presenters included GlassBOX Television, Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, Union des consommateurs, Independent Media Arts Alliance, S-Vox, and the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network. The following review was compiled by University of Ottawa student Graham Hood.

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February 23, 2009 11 comments News