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National Sales Tax by Steve White https://flic.kr/p/7TRPK1 (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Quebec Digital Sales Tax Bill Demonstrates the Complications That Come With Implementing a “Netflix Tax”

The public policy battle over a digital sales tax to cover services such as Netflix continues in Canada with the introduction last week of a Quebec private members bill that would require the collection and remission of provincial sales tax by “persons with a significant online presence.” I’ve already written extensively about the longstanding policy work on digital sales taxes, the misleading claims about a level playing field, and how Canadian subscribers can pay the sales tax on Netflix today if they so choose. While there is an inevitably about digital sales taxes – it will come once global standards are sorted out – some still want the tax now without much regard for the challenges of implementation.

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November 6, 2017 2 comments News
Maryland State House by Danny Huizinga (CC BY 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/onmk19

Canadian Heritage Minister Joly Hints Many Cultural Groups Don’t Comply With Lobbyist Reporting Rules

Canadian Heritage Minister Melanie Joly appeared before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage yesterday, facing questions from MPs on a range of digital culture issues. In light of reports this week on lobbying efforts by Internet companies, Joly was asked about meetings with companies such as Google. Joly defended her interactions by noting that the meetings included discussions on Canadian content and emphasizing that she has had hundreds of meetings with cultural groups. That isn’t particularly surprising, but what should raise concerns was her suggestion that the groups rarely register the meetings in the lobbyist registry as required by law.

Joly told the committee:

the reality is that it’s very rare that the cultural sector registers with lobbyists. I’ve had many more contacts with the cultural sector. I’ve had tens, hundreds of meetings with them throughout the country, in French or in English…I’ve had many more meetings with them than the platforms.

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November 3, 2017 3 comments News
Google Main Search by MoneyBlogNewz (CC BY 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/92t8FA

U.S. Judge Rules Canadian Court Order “Threatens Free Speech on the Global Internet”

A U.S. federal court has issued a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of a Canadian court order requiring Google to remove search results on a global basis. Google filed suit in U.S. court in the aftermath of a Supreme Court of Canada decision upholding a B.C. court’s global takedown order. The Supreme Court decision noted that it was open to Google to raise potential conflict of laws with the B.C. court in the hopes of varying the order:

If Google has evidence that complying with such an injunction would require it to violate the laws of another jurisdiction, including interfering with freedom of expression, it is always free to apply to the British Columbia courts to vary the interlocutory order accordingly.

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November 3, 2017 37 comments News
DSC_7422 by Leadnow (CC BY-SA 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/NsCasz

The TPP is Back: My Submission on the Canadian Government’s TPP11 Consultation

The Trans Pacific Partnership, once left for dead after U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from the agreement, is back with negotiations on a TPP11 (the original agreement featured 12 countries) set to resume next week. With reports indicating that dozens of provisions may be suspended, the Canadian government just concluded a public consultation on the issue.  My full submission is posted below.  It expresses concern with the lack of TPP transparency and provides comments on five substantive areas: dispute settlement, copyright, patents, e-commerce/digital trade, and culture.

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November 2, 2017 1 comment Committees, News
jonhz_2017-Oct-30 by Jonathan Hernández  https://twitter.com/jonhz/status/925127995211370496

NAFTA and the Digital Environment: My Keynote on Striking a Fair Balance on Copyright and Digital Policy

Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to deliver a keynote lecture at American University, Washington College of Law on NAFTA and the digital environment. A video of the talk can be found here (my remarks start just after 11:40) and is embedded below.

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November 1, 2017 Comments are Disabled Keynote Speaking, News, Video