The Federal Privacy Commissioner has released her PIPEDA annual report. The report indicates that there was 400 complaints, a decline from 723 in 2004. The big question is why – is it a function of greater compliance, consumer frustration with PIPEDA, the availability of provincial privacy laws, or a lack […]
Latest Posts
Canada to Launch Cybersecurity Task Force?
My weekly Law Bytes column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) reports that the the Conservative government is preparing to launch a Cyber-Security Task Force. Although the Ministry of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness does not list any information about the task force on its site, GEDS, the government’s electronic directory service, was recently updated to include a Cybersecurity Task Force Secretariat. The Secretariat apparently at least includes an Assistant Deputy Minister and a senior policy analyst.
While the move to address shortcomings in Canada’s cyber-security framework is welcome, the creation of this task force raises three important issues.
Podcasts and Broadcasts
I recently spent about 40 minutes chatting with Amber MacArthur for the Inside the Net podcast program. You can listen to the discussion (which suffer from some poor Skype audio quality) on music and the law, the clip culture, and net neutrality here. Meanwhile, TVO is broadcasting my Hart House […]
Rogers CFO Speculates on Tiered Access
Rogers CFO Doug Linton has told an investors’ conference that ISPs must move toward increased tiered pricing for customers.
Sound Numbers
A special edition of my Law Bytes column (Ottawa Citizen version, homepage version) reports on a recent Canadian Heritage commissioned study on the economic impact of the copyright industries. The Connectus Consulting report, entitled The Economic Impact of Canadian Copyright Industries – Sectoral Analysis, has yet to be publicly released. However, I recently obtained a copy of the final report dated March 31, 2006, under an Access to Information Act request.
The report, which spans 1997 to 2004, finds that the copyright industries comprise 4.5 percent of the Canadian economy and contribute 5.5 percent of total Canadian employment. While that is expected to increase in the coming years (the copyright industries are growing at a faster rate than the overall economy), it pales in comparison to sectors such as finance, manufacturing, agriculture, education, and health care.
More interesting is a case study on the sound recording industry that contradicts both the industry claims and the expectations of the report's authors.
Recent Posts
CRTC Approves Google’s $100 Million Online News Act Exemption Deal 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 217: David Fraser on the Privacy Implications of the Federal Court of Appeal’s Facebook Ruling 
When Antisemitism No Longer Shocks 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 216: Game Changer or More of the Same? Patrick Leblond on the New Global E-Commerce Agreement 
Is Meta Offside the Online News Act? The CRTC Wants to Know.
