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
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OpenMedia.ca: Ars Technica: Big Media trying to bring U.S.-style anti-piracy efforts to Canada
It’s no secret that the Big Media lobby has been pushing for an Internet lockdown, with excessive restrictions on the way we use our own electronic services. Big Media has targeted Canadians’ online choice through legislation like Copyright Bill C-11 and the trade agreements like the TPP, but those aren’t
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Geist: Copyright bill "What ifs?"
As the final House of Commons vote on controversial copyright bill C-11 approaches, law professor Michael Geist asks some questions to highlight what the new law could have been if government had been more committed to a strong, citizen-centric digital future. We take issue with the title of Geist’s piece
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: NDP leader responds to StopSpying.ca campaign
Today—one day after the launch of a new viral video about online spying bill C-30—NDP leader Thomas Mulcair sent a response to petition signers asserting that his party “share[s] the concerns of many Canadians who oppose legislation relating to lawful access, ACTA, and digital locks.” This means that the NDP,
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Big Telecom’s Bills: Weekly Update from OpenMedia.ca
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Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: See that blur? It’s the Copyright Modernization Act flying through Parliament
The controversial Copyright Modernization Act, Bill C-11, has shot through Parliament—its Introduction and First Reading, Second Reading, Committee Stage, and recently-completed Report Stage all took place in only a few short months. More than once in this process, time allocation motions cut debate short, and only a few amendments were
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: TPP: The secretive agreement that could criminalize your Internet use
You may already know that Big Media lobbyists are trying to lock down the Internet in Canada through Copyright Bill C-11 and other activities. The Bill includes provisions that would lock users out of their own services and give Big Media giants increased power to shut down websites. The bill
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: From CISPA to C-30, We Must Stay Engaged! — Weekly Update from OpenMedia.ca
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Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Video: Too much copyright
The founder of popular website icanhascheezburger.com says the imposition of copyright rules that would restrict our use of the Internet “is our generation’s prohibition”. Do you agree? More info about the Canadian context here: http://openmedia.ca/SayNo read more
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: CNET: U.S. ISPs take copyright law into their own hands
Since big telecom companies have major content assets and are ISPs, there’s a good chance we’ll see this sort extra-judicial online censorship in Canada before too long. What can you do? Switch to an indie ISP. And if you haven’t already, give us key input to help us improve our
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Taking it in stride: Weekly Update from OpenMedia.ca
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Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Letter to Supporters: You’ve done something amazing
Earlier this year things looked pretty bleak for supporters of online privacy, affordability, and openness. From costly and warrantless online spying, to scary new Internet lockdown restrictions, to a hike in cell phone fees, it looked like those in government and Big Telecom had finally had enough of the Internet.
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: CIRA: We are all the stakeholders
By Byron Holland for CIRA On February 27, 2012 CIRA hosted a unique meeting on the future of the Internet in Canada. The Canadian Internet Forum (CIF) brought together leading Canadian and international Internet experts and more than 400 interested citizens. Another 100 participated in an online forum CIRA hosted
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Guest Blog: The beginnings of the Internet Lockdown
by Russell McOrmond I’m just a technical guy. I make my living as a systems administrator, software author and Internet consultant. After watching failures of the legislative process in the USA that lead to them passing laws that attacked the rights of technology owners and the interests of software authors,
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Stay Vigilant: Weekly Updates from OpenMedia.ca
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Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: No Internet Lockdown petition gets shout-out in Parliament
The No Internet Lockdown petition made its way into Parliament today. NDP MP Andrew Cash mentioned to petition and the public outcry in the Committee meeting. read more
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Geist: Proposed changes to Copyright Bill C-11 by party
By Michael Geist The Bill C-11 committee has just opened the clause-by-clause review of the copyright bill with 39 amendments on the table: 8 from the goverment, 17 from the NDP, and 14 from the Liberals. The good news is that the misinformation campaign on issues such as fair dealing,
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: ITBusiness: Canadian Music Publishers Association pushes for SOPA-like provisions
From ITBusiness: The Canadian Music Publishers Association wants provisions akin to the United States’ Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) included in Canada’s proposed copyright act Bill C-11, according to an Internet law and privacy expert. The CMPA’s proposal to the Bill C-11 Committee calls for Web site blocking provisions included
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Debunking Bill C-11: Why Canadians should be concerned
Some of you may have noticed that I’ve been away for a while. Sorry about that for those of you who missed me. Let’s just say that I learned the hard way the steep cost of blogging, twitter, facebook, writing for the Globe and Mail, all for free, while holding
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