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

Millions at Stake in Education Copyright Battle

Thousands of Canadian students headed back to school this month with many facing rising loans to pay for tuition, books, and accommodation. My technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) notes that as students struggle to make ends meet, significant new costs loom on the horizon as a result of a battle brewing over copying in universities and colleges. Indeed, the University of Western Ontario has increased its student copying fee this year by over 500% in anticipation of the new fees. The column – posted below – notes the many ways that universities access materials in ways that do not rely on the Access Copyright tariff yet still yield compensation for creators (or reflect their choice in making works freely available). That point seems to have been missed in this response from Alan Cumyn of the Writers’ Union of Canada.

September 17, 2010 — 16 comments — Columns

Conrad Black Case Targets Net Defamation Jurisdiction Standard

Conrad Black’s ongoing legal fight in the United States has attracted considerable attention in Canada, yet my weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) there is a side courtroom battle at home over alleged defamatory content on the Internet that merits closer attention. The case, named Black v. Breeden, involves postings such as press releases and reports on the Hollinger International, Inc. website that Black claims were defamatory. Several Ontario media organizations published the allegations contained in those releases.

When Black sued the company’s directors, advisers, and one company employee for defamation, the defendants in the case brought a motion to dismiss on jurisdictional grounds, arguing that Ontario was not the appropriate venue for the case since both Hollinger and Black are located in the U.S. After a judge dismissed the motion, the defendants appealed to the Ontario Court of Appeal.

In a unanimous decision this month, the appellate court upheld the ruling by the motions judge, concluding that Ontario was a suitable venue and that the defamation case could proceed.

August 30, 2010 — 14 comments — Columns

Telecom Complaints Commissioner Remains a Relative Unknown

Hockey may be Canada’s national pastime, but my weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) notes that complaining about the major telephone and cable companies sometimes seems like it ranks a close second. Delayed Canadian launches of the latest phones, new caps on Internet bandwidth, increased monthly subscription fees, and the entry of additional marketplace competitors all regularly attract significant media attention as consumers focus on their monthly Internet and wireless bills far more intensely than most other products and services.

Notwithstanding the public interest, the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services toils in relative anonymity. Established in 2007, the CCTS came as part of a deregulation bargain initiated by then-Industry Minister Maxime Bernier, who deregulated many local telephone markets and established an industry-funded telecom complaints commissioner.

August 13, 2010 — 11 comments — Columns