Columns

Why are U.S. Net Services Slow to Migrate North?

Netflix, the popular online movie rental service, launched in Canada last month, providing consumers with the option to download an unlimited number of movies and television shows for a flat monthly fee. While the Netflix debut was marred by an ill-advised public relations stunt that involved actors masquerading as excited consumers, my weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) notes that the long delays in migrating the service north once again raised questions over why popular online services rarely view Canada as a priority destination.

Canada’s legal framework makes for a convenient explanation, but the reality is that subtle legal differences are rarely the primary rationale for business and marketing decisions. Moreover, Canadian privacy, e-commerce, and intellectual property laws are compliant with international standards and recent surveys have found that business executives view Canadian protections as better than those in the United States. As the Canadian government readies its national digital economy strategy, identifying the real reasons behind delayed entry into the Canadian market is a crucial piece of the puzzle.

At least three explanations come to mind.

October 15, 2010 — 36 comments — Columns

ACTA Conclusion Leaves Flexibility for Made-in-Canada Approach

Negotiations on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement concluded earlier this month, with Canada, the United States, the European Union, and a handful of other countries releasing the text of a near-complete agreement. While several key issues are still unresolved, no further negotiation rounds are planned as participants plan to use the coming weeks to iron out the remaining differences.

My weekly technology law column (Ottawa Citizen version, homepage version) notes that for many Canadians, a core concern with the agreement was the possibility that it could severely limit the ability to establish a made-in-Canada approach on copyright and intellectual property policy. Indeed, NDP Digital Affairs Critic Charlie Angus raised the issue in the House of Commons last year, noting that ACTA could undermine domestic policy.

October 12, 2010 — 14 comments — Columns

From Rhetoric to Reality: The Key Issues in Bill C-32

This week the Hill Times ran my op-ed (HT version, homepage version) on the key issues in Bill C-32. The column, based on a post from last week, focuses on digital locks, fair dealing, ISP liability, statutory damages, and the private copying levy. It is posted below.

September 29, 2010 — 22 comments — Columns

U.S. Uses Domain Names As New Way to Regulate the Net

Governments have long sought ways to regulate Internet activity, whether for the purposes of taxation, content regulation, or the application of national laws. Effective regulatory measures have often proven elusive, however, since, unlike the Internet, national laws typically end at the border. Earlier this month, the United States began to move aggressively toward a new way of confronting the Internet’s jurisdictional limitations – the domain name system.

Domain names are widely used to ensure that email is delivered to the right inbox or to allow users to access a particular website. The system includes a large database that matches the domain name (e.g. michaelgeist.ca) to a specific IP address (i.e. the location of the computer server). The system is used billions of times every day to route Internet traffic to its intended destination.

As every Internet user knows, inadvertently entering the wrong email or web address typically means that the email bounces back or takes the user to an unexpected destination. As my weekly technology law column notes (Toronto Star version, homepage version), legislators have now begun to consider the possibility of intentionally stopping access to certain sites by ordering Internet providers to block access to their domain names.

September 28, 2010 — 33 comments — Columns

Media Mergers the Last Stab at Failed Walled Garden Strategy

In the years before the emergence of the Internet, three online service providers battled in the United States for market supremacy. America Online (later AOL), Prodigy, and Compuserve each adopted “walled garden” strategies that pinned their hopes on exclusive content to attract large subscriber bases.

AOL ultimately won, becoming the largest online service provider in the world in the late 1990s. With tens of millions of subscribers, the company continued to bet on its walled garden approach, even as many people merely wanted their services to access the Internet. Over the years, AOL saw its market share shrink dramatically, overtaken by an open Internet that offers infinitely more choice than any single company can.

While others attempted to erect their own walled gardens – Minitel in France, early Internet access on wireless devices that only pointed to company-approved sites and services – consumer demand for open Internet access consistently won out.

Despite the poor track record, my weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) notes that walled gardens seemingly still hold appeal to companies that believe the best way to distinguish their services is to offer exclusive access to content. In recent months, Canada has experienced perhaps the last stab at a walled garden strategy with Shaw Communications’ purchase of Canwest Global Communications and BCE’s acquisition of CTV. Throw in the broadcast assets owned by Rogers Communications and Videotron and control of the major Canadian private broadcasters is solidly in the hands of telecom and cable companies.

September 23, 2010 — 4 comments — Columns