Melanie Aitken, now-former head of the Competition Bureau, slammed Bell for using the ‘domestic champion’ argument to justify the growing concentration of Canadian broadcasting and the vertical integration of content producers delivery providers. Bell claims that Canada “needs companies with the scale to compete against foreign content companies like Netflix,
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OpenMedia.ca: Government takes small step in support of rural broadband access
The StarPhoenix yesterday called out phone company SaskTel for its sudden announcement of a cancellation of Internet services to rural areas in Saskatchewan. This will leave 8,000 customers without Internet access, at a time when “farmers are relying on the Internet more than ever before for such things as timely
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Great new members elected to CIRA!
Last week we encouraged you all to vote in the 2012 CIRA Board of Directors election, to ensure that the five seats up for grabs would be filled by candidates who will push for improvements in Canadian digital policy. The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (or CIRA), is a non-profit organization
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Online Services are great for Canadians, but threaten Big Telecom
Big telecom companies are feeling the squeeze as online services are offering Canadians alternative, cheaper ways to communicate and get access to diverse media content. These include video services like YouTube, AppleTV, and Netflix, and Internet-based social messaging services. These services provide an easily customizable and far more affordable alternative
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Minister Toews still pushing online spying bill C-30, ignoring due process and police resourcing
Parliament resumes this month, and as Tim Harper of the Toronto Star asserts, the highly unpopular online spying bill, C-30, is still high on the government’s agenda. As there’s little on the books for the fall session of Parliament, Public Safety Minister Vic Toews is taking the opportunity to once
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: The 2012 BC Information Summit: This Time, It’s Personal
We at OpenMedia.ca are getting excited about the 2012 bi-annual BC Information Summit: This Time, It’s Personal: Freedom of Information and Privacy Under Government 2.0. The Summit will be held on September 19 and will focus on the BC Government’s sweeping “Citizens @ The Center: Government 2.0” initiative, which aims
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: The ITU takes a (half-measured) step towards transparency
Last month, we reposted an article that reported a move by the United Nations’ International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to take over management of the Internet. This is a worrying move that could allow certain oppressive nations to threaten the freedom and openness of the Internet. The issue is due to
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Why CETA is bad for Canadian Internet Users
As many of you know big media lobbyists have lost several battles to impose severe Internet restrictions at the national level in bill C-11 here in Canada, and in SOPA/PIPA in the US. You also may know they are increasingly looking to impose these restrictions through secretive International trade agreements
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: New Zealand pushes back against TPP agreement; calls for a “fair deal”
Momentum is building for the StopTheTrap.net campaign, as new initiatives are being launched to oppose the criminalizing and invasive provisions in the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement. One of our international coalition partners, InternetNZ, launched a campaign this week called Fair Deal, which draws attention to potential changes to New Zealand copyright
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: New CRTC Chair Could Bring Change to Broken Internet Regulation
Jean Pierre Blais was recently appointed as the new chairman of the CRTC, a move which has many in the pro-Internet hopeful for a shift away from the misguided and harmful policymaking that we’ve seen in the last few years. The CRTC is responsible for regulating the Internet Traffic Management
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: New CRTC Chair Could Bring Change to Broken Internet Regulation
Jean Pierre Blais was recently appointed as the new chairman of the CRTC, a move which has many in the pro-Internet hopeful for a shift away from the misguided and harmful policymaking that we’ve seen in the last few years. The CRTC is responsible for regulating the Internet Traffic Management
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Most Extremist Copyright Policy Document Ever Released in Canada?
Big Media’s lobbyists are still pushing hard for the lockdown of the Internet, and they are using flawed research to justify it. Their leading lobby group, the Canadian Intellectual Property Council (CIPC), released a report on World Anti Counterfeiting Day emphasizing the necessity for copyright law similar to the highly
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Geist: Copyright vs. Fundamental Rights
Various international efforts are currently in the works to lock down the Internet, but University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist reports that the global pro-Internet movement made some gains last week on the Anti Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). ACTA is an international copyright enforcement treaty, primarily lobbied for by
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: ACTA’s Not Dead Yet: The Crucial EU Vote Approaches
What is ACTA? The Anti-Counterfeit Trade Agreement is a secretive international treaty for the enforcing of new copyright and intellectual property laws. Not much is known about the actual content of the agreement, but we do know that it conflates intellectual property infringement like the production of illegal and dangerous
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: ACTA’s Not Dead Yet: The Detailed Breakdown
What is ACTA? The Anti-Counterfeit Trade Agreement is a secretive international treaty for the enforcing of new copyright and intellectual property laws. Not much is known about the actual content of the agreement, but we know that it is extremely broad in scope, and that according to international Pirate Party
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Internet Access Jeopardized by Funding Cuts
The digital divide is alive and well in Canada, and government cuts are making it even wider. All Canadians deserve open and affordable access to the Internet in the 21st century, but rural and disadvantaged communities don’t enjoy the same access to highspeed Internet services that many of us in
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