Michael Geist

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How to Vote for the Internet: Election Our Chance To Ask About Internet Policy

The federal election marks the end for at least five government bills focused on Internet and digital policy. Bills on privacy, copyright, and Internet surveillance died on the order paper and will have to start from scratch when a new government is elected in May. Moreover, the much-anticipated digital economy strategy, set for release this spring, has likely been delayed until the fall at the very earliest.

While the legislative process may be on hold, my weekly technology column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) notes the election campaign offers Canadians the chance to raise the profile of Internet and digital issues even further by voting for the Internet. The Internet is obviously not a political party, but a vote for the Internet means asking candidates for their views on the country’s top digital issues:

March 28, 2011 — 21 comments — Columns

Another Copyright Bill Hits the Scrap Heap: Taking Stock of Canadian Digital Law and Policy Reform

Later today, it appears certain that the government will lose a non-confidence motion, spelling the end to the current Parliament and sending Canada into yet another election. There have been some legislative and policy successes since 2008 including the Anti-Spam law (C-28), a law involving ISPs and child pornography (C-22), and the recent launch of open government and open data initiatives. In addition, the government re-appointed Privacy Commissioner of Canada Jennifer Stoddart for another three year term, supported the entry of Globalive into the Canadian wireless market, and pressured the CRTC to revisit its policy on usage based billing.

Notwithstanding these developments, the focus will undoubtedly shine on the bills and policies that were started but not completed. These include:

the digital economy strategy
a policy on foreign investment in telecommunications
a policy on foreign ownership in book publishing and distribution
a policy on the forthcoming wireless spectrum auction
Bill C-29, a bill to reform PIPEDA
Bill C-32, the copyright reform bill
Bills C-50, 51, 52, the lawful access bills
Bill C-393, the private members bill to facilitate access to generic medicines in Africa

The future for each of these initiatives varies.

March 25, 2011 — 19 comments — News

Rogers Admits Traffic Management Throttles World of Warcraft

Rogers has admitted that its traffic management practices may interfere with World of Warcraft. It says modifications to its software will not be ready until June.

March 25, 2011 — 9 comments — News

Supreme Court Grants Leave To Copyright, Broadcasting Cases

The Supreme Court of Canada yesterday granted leave to appeal in two notable cases – an appeal of the Federal Court of Appeal’s decision that ISPs are not broadcasters under the Broadcasting Act (I wrote about that decision here) and the never ending saga of Tariff 22, which involves tariffs […]

March 25, 2011 — 4 comments — News

Five Straight Years: Canadian Digital Music Sales Growth Against Beats the U.S.

Nielsen Soundscan releases annual music sales figures for the United States in the first week of the new year and for Canada one month later. This year Nielsen released the U.S. figures, but nearly three months later, there has still not been a public release of the Canadian figures. However, a Globe and Mail story over the weekend included the data, which confirms that the Canadian digital market grew faster than the U.S. market in 2010. Last year, digital music sales grew by 19.8% in Canada, while the U.S. market was basically flat, with just 1% growth. As the chart below demonstrates, this marks five straight years in which the Canadian digital market has grown faster than the U.S.: