Appeared in the Toronto Star on June 10, 2012 as UN Internet Takeover Rumours Mask Bigger Governance Shortcomings In recent months the Internet has been buzzing about the prospect of a United Nations “takeover” of the Internet, including responsibility for governance of the domain name system. The concern hit a […]
Post Tagged with: "internet"
Cutting Community Internet Access Program Highlights Absence of Digital Strategy
Appeared in the Ottawa Citizen on April 17, 2012 as Canada Lacking Digital Strategy The recent federal budget was a hefty 498 pages, but it still omitted disclosing the decision to eliminate funding for the Community Access Program, Canada’s longstanding initiative to provide an Internet access alternative for those without […]
International Free Speech Representatives Issue Joint Declaration on Expression and the Internet
The United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Representative on Freedom of the Media, the Organization of American States (OAS) Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) Special […]
ACTA Ultra-Lite: The U.S. Cave on the Internet Chapter Complete
It should also be noted that this chapter is still not concluded. The inclusion of trademarks in some provisions would seemingly require changes to U.S. law and has not acheived consensus. Further, a provision on enforcement procedures ” including the unlawful use of means of widespread distribution for infringing purposes” has not received consensus support. With respect to what has been concluded:
Broadcasting Policy Without The Net
The CRTC's release of its much-anticipated broadcasting regulatory policy decision set off a flurry of comments yesterday with broadcasters welcoming the prospect of negotiating fees for their local signals, broadcast distributors warning of increased costs, and the CBC arguing that the decision was a "dark day" for public broadcasters after it was excluded from the negotiating process. While there is understandably considerable discussion in the decision on programming requirements, the media focus centered on the fee-for-carriage issue. On that front, the CRTC has opened the door to negotiations, subject to a court ruling confirming the Commission's jurisdiction to implement such an approach.
It seems appropriate that on the day the CRTC released its decision, a new study was published that found Canadians now spend more time online than watching television. While the world is increasingly moving online, the CRTC decision acts as if the Internet scarcely exists. The broadcasting policy decision mentions the Internet once (acknowledging that it is a platform for content distribution) and does not including any reference to streaming, Youtube, podcast, BitTorrent, or peer-to-peer (used by the CBC to distribute its content). The word "consumer" is mentioned five times, though the consumer perspective will be addressed in a second report due later today to Cabinet.
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