Canada’s national spam task force today delivered its report to Industry Minister David Emerson. I was a member of the task force and served as the co-chair of the law and regulatory working group.
Archive for 2005
The Wrong Analogy, More on the CRTC VoIP Decision
My regular Law Bytes column (freely available linked version, Toronto Star version, homepage version) focuses on the CRTC’s VoIP decision. I begin by noting that when the Internet burst onto the public stage in the mid 1990s, legal scholars initially relied on analogies to identify an appropriate legal framework. Likening the Internet to the "Law of the Sea" or the "Law of Outer Space, their hope was that an existing body of law would provide a ready made solution to the Internet’s inevitable legal challenges. The approach failed, however, as the complexity of the Internet, as well as the genuinely novel issues it raised, rendered each successive proposal unsatisfactory.
CRTC Picks Wrong Analogy In Net Telephony Ruling
When the Internet burst onto the public stage in the mid-1990s, legal scholars initially relied on analogies to identify an appropriate legal framework. Likening the Internet to the “Law of the Sea” or the “Law of Outer Space”, their hope was that an existing body of law would provide a […]
CRTC Adopts Strong Regulatory Approach in VoIP Decision
The CRTC issued its much anticipated VoIP decision earlier today. Much to the chagrin of the major telcos, the Commission has adopted a strong regulatory approach. While it exempts P2P VoIP providers such as Skype, the traditional providers face a VoIP framework that looks a lot like the current local regulatory framework.
The Commission reasons that for consumers, local VoIP service looks a lot like (and is marketed like) traditional local phone service. Accordingly, the Commission has set a regulatory framework that addresses everything from reseller registration to phone directory listings to privacy protection.
Up to this point, I’d argue that Commission is on solid ground. Robust competition requires a level playing field and ensuring that all providers can offer equivalent services that consumers rely upon may require regulatory intervention of this kind.
IP Bullied List Needed To Counter U.S. Trade and IP Linkage
My weekly Law Bytes column (freely available hyperlinked version, Toronto Star version, homepage version) focuses on the recent USTR Special 301 report and its specific criticisms of Canada's copyright plans. The column highlights the gradual escalation of U.S. linkage of trade and intellectual property protection and calls for the creation of new IP Bullied List that would include at least a dozen countries bullied into agreeing to stronger IP laws, along with a Bullied Watch List that would include dozens of countries currently negotiating similar trade agreements.
Recent Posts
The Lawful Access Privacy Risks: Unpacking Bill C-22’s Expansive Metadata Retention Requirements 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 261: Ian Goldberg on the Privacy Risks of Age Assurance Technologies 
Government Enacts Political Party Anti-Privacy Rules With Bill C-4 Royal Assent Sprint 
A Tale of Two Bills: Lawful Access Returns With Changes to Warrantless Access But Dangerous Backdoor Surveillance Risks Remain 
Words Are Not Enough: Countering Relentless Antisemitic Violence in Canada With Action
