David Eaves notes that the federal government has amended its standard open data license terms, addressing some of the concerns raised with the open data launch earlier this year.
News
NDP, Liberals Call for Net Neutrality Reforms
The opposition NDP and Liberals have swiftly called for reforms to Canada’s net neutrality framework in light of today’s revelations of the CRTC’s failure to effectively enforce its own guidelines. The NDP’s Charlie Angus tweets “CRTC can’t be trusted to protect public on net neutrality. NDP will legislate clear rules […]
The CRTC’s Over-the-Top Video Consult: Calls for Competition, Regulation, & De-Regulation
What remains is the next step for the CRTC. It seems certain that there will be a full scale hearing, but the question is whether the Commission will cave to pressure from some groups for something immediately, or wait until the next new media hearing round in 2014. Given the lack of actual evidence – this has been a fear-finding exercise rather than a fact-finding one – the CRTC should surely label this a watching brief and wait until 2014.
A glance at each of the submission groups:
EU To Target Data Roaming Fees
The European Union has announced plans to tackle data roaming fees by establishing a cap of the costs per MB charged to consumers. An OECD study recently found that Canadians face some of the highest roaming fees in the developed world.
The Netflix Fear: Competition (But Not the Competition You Might Think)
The submissions include the usual fear mongering about services like Netflix. The winner so far comes from the Stingray Digital Group, which warns:
Just as Napster wreaked havoc on the record label industry in the early 2000’s and played a major role in the collapse of the music retail industry, so too will the new breed of OTT music services materially disrupt licensed Canadian music services and the Canadian broadcasting system if the status quo is left unchecked.
Other submissions contains lots of rhetoric about the dangers of an unregulated over-the-top services market, but no actual evidence of real harm.
Recent Posts
Government Reverses on Privacy and the Charter: Department of Justice Analysis Concludes Political Party Privacy Bill Raises No Charter of Rights Effects 
“Big Brother Tactics”: Why Bill C-2’s New Warrantless Disclosure Demand Powers Extend Far Beyond Internet and Telecom Providers 
Government Seeks To Exempt Political Parties From Privacy Laws Even As CRTC Reports They Are Leading Source of Spam Complaints 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 236: Robert Diab on the Return of Lawful Access 
Government Remains Silent as it Eviscerates Political Party Privacy in Canada By Fast Tracking Bill C-4
