Post Tagged with: "crtc"

0S9A9005 by Vancouver Economic Commission  https://flic.kr/p/JcaX2m CC BY 2.0

The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 234: “Solutions Aren’t Going to be Found Through Nostalgia”: Mark Musselman on the CRTC Hearings on Canadian Content Rules

The CRTC recently wrapped up a two-week hearing on the Online Streaming Act that featured most of the usual suspects, though notably not the large streaming services. The Commission grappled with foundational issues such as modernizing the definition of Canadian content, instituting IP requirements, and introducing new discoverability rules into Canada’s broadcasting regulatory framework.

Mark Musselman is a former entertainment lawyer, longtime Canadian movie producer, current PhD student focused on cultural and legal policy, and the author of the White Paper Black Coffee substack. Having appeared many times before the CRTC, he joins the Law Bytes podcast to discuss the recent Cancon hearing, breaking down the major issues of debate and identifying what was missing from the discussion.

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June 2, 2025 0 comments Podcasts
Day 207: I've Contracted An Agreement by Juli https://flic.kr/p/4H9qPz CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 220: Marina Pavlović on the CRTC’s Plans to Address Consumer Frustration Over Wireless Contracts

Consumer frustration with just about everything associated with Canadian communications services is well known. The list of concerns is long: high prices, contracts that lock in consumers but not providers, gaming prices to make comparison shopping difficult, and confusing consumer codes among them. As politicians have begun to take notice, the CRTC has suddenly become more active with several consultations and new consumer focused initiatives. My colleague Marina Pavlović, a law professor at the University of Ottawa, has been at the forefront of consumer rights law and communications services for many years. She joins the Law Bytes podcast to talk about the ongoing consumer challenges and the latest CRTC developments. 

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November 25, 2024 4 comments Podcasts
Reclaim Video Streaming by Jim Groom CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 https://flic.kr/p/S1H2E8

How the Online Streaming Act Misdiagnosed Canada’s Broadcasting Woes 

Nearly one year ago, I made my way from my home in Ottawa across the river to the Gatineau hearing room used by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to participate in its inaugural proceeding on implementing the Online Streaming Act, better known as Bill C-11. I had regularly appeared as a witness at House of Commons and Senate committees, but this was my first time participating in a hearing before Canada’s broadcasting regulator. I came with a simple message: while the roster of witnesses was filled with cultural lobby groups and broadcasters asking for their share of the bill’s anticipated pot of gold, the perspective of consumers and the public interest needed to be heard.

My opening statement emphasized prioritizing public over private interests, which, I argued, meant putting Canadians at the centre of their communications system, as one CRTC chair once characterized it. I did not anticipate receiving a warm reception, but I was still taken aback by the frostiness toward the notion that consumers and the public interest were important considerations. Instead, commissioners pointed to the need to step in where broadcasters or content creators were struggling to succeed in the market.

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November 12, 2024 15 comments Columns
The News by Taymaz Valley CC BY 2.0 https://flic.kr/p/2k6i7AS

CRTC Approves Google’s $100 Million Online News Act Exemption Deal

The government’s deeply flawed attempt to force tech platforms to pay Canadian news outlets for linking to news is nearing its payout. The CRTC this week formally exempted Google from negotiating individual agreements and facing a potential mandated arbitration system in return for a lump sum $100 million annual payment. The $100 million deal was the government’s last ditch attempt to salvage the Online News Act as its insistence that tech platforms would never walk away from news proved to be disastrously wrong. Within weeks of the former Bill C-18 receiving royal assent in June 2023, Meta blocked news links on its Facebook and Instagram platforms. The block has remained in place for more than a year, causing significant harm to news outlets and sparking a CRTC investigation into whether user attempts to evade the block bring the company within the scope of the law.

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October 31, 2024 7 comments News
Facebook Bill C-18 notice

Is Meta Offside the Online News Act? The CRTC Wants to Know.

Meta has blocked news links on its Facebook and Instagram platforms for more than a year in response to the Online News Act, resulting in significant lost traffic to many Canadian news sites. The company’s position has been pretty clear from the start: the law applies to digital news intermediaries that make “news content produced by news outlets available to persons in Canada.” By blocking news links, the company believes that it falls outside the definition and therefore is not required to register with the CRTC and enter into negotiations for payments to Canadian news outlets. After Canadian Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge repeatedly urged the CRTC to examine the issue, this week the Commission sent a letter to Meta giving it seven days to comment on “what measures Meta is taking to comply with the Act, and whether news is being made available on Meta’s platforms.”

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October 9, 2024 18 comments News