Later today I'll be participating in a copyright forum in Toronto together with MPs Olivia Chow and Charlie Angus, as well as representatives from ACTRA, the Songwriters Association of Canada, and the Canadian Library Association. Details at the Facebook event page or catch the event streamed on UStream.
Latest Posts
Counting Crows Go Label Free
TechCrunch reports that the Counting Crows had ended their relationship with their music label, following frustration over the inability to aggressively use the Internet.
Canada’s First Street View Service Launched
IT Business reports that Canpages.ca has launched Canada's first street view serivce, with photos of Vancouver, Whistler, and Squamish, B.C.
The CRTC New Media Hearing – What Comes Next?
With the conclusion of the CRTC New Media hearing last week, the Commission will now digest the many hours of testimony and thousands of pages of documents with the goal of reaching a decision on the future of new media exception/regulation later this year (day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10). While no one knows what the CRTC will do, this posting contains my best guess.
The hearings highlighted that there are several new media broadcasting platforms and that the potential solutions differ for each. I think three in particular will garner attention – fixed Internet, wireless/mobile Internet, and Internet radio.
Canadian Privacy Rights Buried in the Fine Print
Scott McNealy, the former CEO of Sun Microsystems, has achieved considerable notoriety for having warned Internet users ten years ago that "you have no privacy, get over it." Recent headlines suggest that the Ontario courts have adopted those sentiments, as two recent decisions involving the disclosure of subscriber information by Internet service providers confirmed that revealing personal information to law enforcement without a warrant is permitted under Canadian privacy law.
While some view these cases as providing conclusive evidence that Canadians enjoy little privacy in identifying data such as customer name and address information, my weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) argues that a closer look at the decisions and industry practices reveal that the issue is not entirely settled.
Recent Posts
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 240: Dean Beeby on Why Canada’s Language Laws May Stop Government From Posting Access to Information Records Online 
Risky Business: The Legal and Privacy Concerns of Mandatory Age Verification Technologies 
Another Canadian Digital Policy Own Goal: Corporate TikTok Ban Leads to Millions in Lost Cultural Group Support 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 239: The Rise and Fall of Canada’s Digital Services Tax 
Canada’s DST Debacle a Case Study of Digital Strategy Trouble
