Michael Geist

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Poker by Images Money (CC BY 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/9VCMJf

Quebec Takes on the Internet: Government Announces Plans to Require Website Blocking & Studies New Internet Access Tax

The Government of Quebec released its budget yesterday featuring two Internet-related measures that are sure to attract attention and possible litigation. First, it is moving forward with plans to study a new tax on residential Internet services in order to provide support for the cultural sector. The study was recommended by the Quebec Taxation Review Committee, which is looking for new sources of revenue to support the movie, music, and book publishing industries. There are no further details on how much an ISP tax would be, though the plan would increase Internet access costs at the very time that governments are concerned with improving affordability.

Second, the government says it will be introducing a new law requiring ISPs to block access to online gambling sites. The list of blocked sites will be developed by Loto-Quebec, a government agency. The budget states:

A legislative amendment will be proposed to introduce an illegal website filtering measure. In accordance with this measure, Internet service providers will not be allowed to provide access to an online gaming and gambling website whose name is on a list of websites that are to be blocked, drawn up by Loto-Québec. This measure will be applied by the Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux, which should have the necessary resources to fulfil its new responsibilities.

March 27, 2015 — 47 comments — News

Desolate Destiny by Kat N.L.M. (CC BY-NC 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/hL5zvU

Why the Crull Controversy Is a Symptom of Bell’s Bad Bundles Bet

The furor over Bell Media President Kevin Crull’s banning of CRTC Chair Jean Pierre Blais from CTV news coverage following the pick-and-pay decision made for a remarkable news day yesterday. From the initial Globe report to the unprecedented response from Blais to the Crull apology, it was a head-spinning day. While Bell presumably hopes that the apology brings the matter to a close, that seems unlikely to be the case as there are bigger implications for Crull, CTV News, and Bell more broadly.

Crull’s future has been the subject of much talk, with some calling for his resignation, particularly since there is evidence that this is not the first instance of the editorial interference. Assuming it has occurred before (the reference to “re-learning” in the Crull apology is telling), CEO George Cope was undoubtedly aware of the practice and must surely have condoned it, suggesting that Crull will survive. However, Crull’s bigger problem may be that his ability to represent Bell Media before the CRTC has been irreparably damaged. Bell could have Cope represent the company rather than Crull (indicating the seriousness of the issues), but Crull will struggle as the public face of the company before the regulator for as long as Blais remains chair.

March 26, 2015 — 7 comments — News

Zeppelin IV by Dave Sutherland (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/gaQnJ

What On Earth is Happening at Bell?

March 25, 2015 — 4 comments — News

Brian by Mark Bray (CC BY 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/4uyq2M

Bell’s Crull Banned CRTC Chair Blais From CTV News Coverage Following TalkTV Decision

The Globe and Mail’s James Bradshaw reports that Bell Media President Kevin Crull banned CTV media properties from including CRTC Chair Jean Pierre Blais in coverage of the recent TalkTV decisions. The report indicates that Crull ordered the head of CTV News to stop including Blais in coverage following an interview on BNN, which led to the cancellation of an interview with Don Martin and dropping him from local news stories (he was included in the national newscast as Robert Fife defied the order). Bell Media has still not publicly commented on the pick-and-pay decision. Crull is the same Bell executive who earlier this month called for the blocking of U.S. channels and for new measures to make it more difficult for Canadians to access U.S. Netflix.

I would say the story is shocking, but this is not the first time of reports that Crull has meddled in news coverage related to his company. In August 2013, Dwayne Winseck reported that Crull intervened on coverage of the wireless sector when Verizon was considering entry into the Canadian market. Winseck posted emails from Crull to news executives throughout CBC urging certain coverage of a wireless report throughout Bell Media’s television and radio stations. I wrote about Winseck’s story here.

March 25, 2015 — 11 comments — News

Stop Bill C-51 by Jeremy Board (CC BY 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/rCFtMw

A Conversation About Bill C-51: How the Anti-Terrorism Bill Undermines Canadian Privacy

Yesterday, I had the honour of participating in a terrific panel at the University of Ottawa on Bill C-51 alongside colleagues Dean Nathalie Des Rosiers and Joanne St. Lewis (the panel was moderated by the Toronto Star’s Tonda MacCharles and organized by Carissima Mathen). My remarks focused on the privacy implications of Bill C-51, drawing on a recent column on the issue (Toronto Star version, homepage version). My opening comments are posted below.

A Conversation About Bill C-51

Thanks to Carissima Mathen for organizing this panel. It’s a great idea and given that this week looks like the final week for committee hearings, very timely.

It is hard to know where to start with Bill C-51. So I’m not going to start with the bill at all. In fact, I’d like to share my context for reviewing the bill and provide a far more personal take than is typical. There is good reason for doing so – if you have followed the rather limited committee hearings to date, you know that government MPs have made deeply personal comments, raising questions about the loyalty to Canada of some witnesses and whether critics of the bill believe terrorism is a threat.

March 24, 2015 — 35 comments — News