Archive for July, 2008

CNA Expresses Concern With Press Freedoms Under C-61

The Canadian Newspaper Association has issued a position paper with its views on C-61.  While the paper addresses several issues, its concerns with the anti-circumvention provisions are the most striking.  The CNA notes that:

Bill C-61 makes it an offence to bypass any technological protection used on Internet sites. This is not normally an issue for newspaper public sites, but might apply to sites requiring registration, and to paid archive services. While this is positive for rightsholders seeking to protect content from unauthorized access, it could have implications on newsgathering, news reporting, and press freedom broadly, as is shown in the discussion below.

Under section 29.2 of the current legislation, there is a fair dealing defence to copyright infringement for news reporting. As drafted, Bill C-61 throws up roadblocks. For instance, if documents are encrypted, it will be illegal to break the encryption. This means that journalists who come across or are sent electronic documents (for example from a whistleblower) may be unable to use them without incurring very significant liability, even though there are no barriers on using the same materials in print format. It might also mean that citing video or other content from a digitally protected work (say, a DVD movie in which a newsmaker once appeared) could incur liability.

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July 2, 2008 9 comments News

Is Rogers Blocking Access to RuinediPhone.com? – UPDATED – No Block, DNS Problems

Several readers have written today indicating that they believe that Rogers is blocking subscribers from accessing RuinediPhone.com, the petition site that is complaining about Rogers' data plans for the iPhone.  While the initial reports over the weekend indicated that the problem lay with the site host, I must admit that […]

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July 2, 2008 28 comments News

61 Reforms to C-61, Day 8: Time Shifting Provision’s Time and Copy Limits

The time shifting provision in C-61 also contains time and copy limits – Canadians may keep "the recording no longer than necessary in order to listen to or watch the program at a more convenient time" and may not make more than one recording of the program.  While it is […]

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July 2, 2008 6 comments News

Jim Prentice’s Stampede Breakfast

Several groups are pulling together plans to attend Industry Minister Jim Prentice's Stampede Breakfast this Saturday (1, 2, 3).  If you're in Calgary, bring along a donation for the Children's Cottage Society and make your voice heard.

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July 2, 2008 6 comments News

UK Government Launches Data Mashup Contest

The BBC reports that the UK Government is making gigabytes of government data freely available as it encourages the public to develop innovative mashups with the information.  There is a prize fund for the best ideas for using data such as mapping information, medical data, and neighbourhood statistics.

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July 2, 2008 1 comment News