Latest Posts

Spam Task Force Delivers Report to Government

Canada’s national spam task force today delivered its report to Industry Minister David Emerson. I was a member of the task force and served as the co-chair of the law and regulatory working group.

Read more ›

May 17, 2005 Comments are Disabled Columns

The Wrong Analogy, More on the CRTC VoIP Decision

My regular Law Bytes column (freely available linked version, Toronto Star version, homepage version) focuses on the CRTC’s VoIP decision. I begin by noting that when the Internet burst onto the public stage in the mid 1990s, legal scholars initially relied on analogies to identify an appropriate legal framework. Likening the Internet to the "Law of the Sea" or the "Law of Outer Space, their hope was that an existing body of law would provide a ready made solution to the Internet’s inevitable legal challenges. The approach failed, however, as the complexity of the Internet, as well as the genuinely novel issues it raised, rendered each successive proposal unsatisfactory.

Read more ›

May 16, 2005 Comments are Disabled Columns
CRTC Adopts Strong Regulatory Approach in VoIP Decision

CRTC Adopts Strong Regulatory Approach in VoIP Decision

The CRTC issued its much anticipated VoIP decision earlier today. Much to the chagrin of the major telcos, the Commission has adopted a strong regulatory approach. While it exempts P2P VoIP providers such as Skype, the traditional providers face a VoIP framework that looks a lot like the current local regulatory framework.

The Commission reasons that for consumers, local VoIP service looks a lot like (and is marketed like) traditional local phone service. Accordingly, the Commission has set a regulatory framework that addresses everything from reseller registration to phone directory listings to privacy protection.

Up to this point, I’d argue that Commission is on solid ground. Robust competition requires a level playing field and ensuring that all providers can offer equivalent services that consumers rely upon may require regulatory intervention of this kind.

Read more ›

May 12, 2005 Comments are Disabled News

IP Bullied List Needed To Counter U.S. Trade and IP Linkage

My weekly Law Bytes column (freely available hyperlinked version, Toronto Star version, homepage version) focuses on the recent USTR Special 301 report and its specific criticisms of Canada's copyright plans. The column highlights the gradual escalation of U.S. linkage of trade and intellectual property protection and calls for the creation of new IP Bullied List that would include at least a dozen countries bullied into agreeing to stronger IP laws, along with a Bullied Watch List that would include dozens of countries currently negotiating similar trade agreements.

Read more ›

May 9, 2005 Comments are Disabled Columns

Five Months

The Privacy Commissioner of Canada yesterday released the summary of her finding in my spam case launched against the Ottawa Renegades. My case is now Finding #297 and, true to form, the Renegades are now just an unnamed sports organization. While I am pleased with the outcome of the case […]

Read more ›

May 6, 2005 Comments are Disabled News