UnLawful Access Video

mediascapes3 — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 12:21:33 +0000

From The Mark, more on the Stop Online Spying campaign:

OpenMedia.ca has been working with a coalition of organizations to raise awareness about the federal government’s impending “Lawful Access” legislation – dubbed “Online Spying” by its critics. As part of this effort, OpenMedia.ca has launched the following documentary featuring Canada’s leading privacy experts explaining the dangers of the proposed legislation – namely, that these new electronic surveillance laws allow authorities to access the private information of any Canadian, at any time,without a warrant.

Video produced in collaboration with The New Transparency: Surveillance & Social Sorting, and DigitallyMediatedSurveillance.ca. The video is also available here with interviews and under a CC license can be remixed: http://unlawfulaccess.net/

CRTC Vertical Integration Hearings

mediascapes3 — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 01:12:35 +0000

In CRTC 2011-601 issued on September 21, 2011 the CRTC issued their decision on a framework for media integration of large companies in Canada: the “vertical integration” hearings. According to the CRTC, vertical integration refers to “the ownership, by one entity, of both programming and distribution undertakings, or, both programming undertakings and production companies.” This has been a pressing issue especially as the integration of broadcasting-telecom-internet companies has been increasing in Canada, with the big 4 integrated companies (Bell, Shaw, Rogers and Quebecor) dominating the market. In their decision, CRTC Commissioner Konrad von Finckenstein wrote that

“Given the size of the Canadian market, there are benefits to integrating television programming and distribution services under the same corporate umbrella..At the same time, we felt that some safeguards were needed to prevent anti-competitive behaviour. In particular, Canadians shouldn’t be forced to buy a mobile device from a specific company or subscribe to its Internet service simply to access their favourite television programs.”
http://crtc.gc.ca/eng/com100/2011/r110921.htm

The CRTC decision:

Prohibits companies from offering television programs on an exclusive basis solely to their mobile or Internet subscribers. Programs broadcast on television must be made available to other media company competitors under ‘fair and reasonable’ terms. This includes hockey games! And other live events.

Allows media companies to offer exclusive programming to their Internet or mobile customers if it is produced specifically for an Internet portal or a mobile device – and this can include extra programming including ‘behind-the-scenes’ clips.

Requires media companies to adopt a code of conduct in order to prevent anti-competitive behavior. This code will also ensure that all distributors, broadcasters and online programming services ‘negotiate in good faith’. When firms are in the process of negotiating, subscribers/users will be protected, and broadcaster must continue to offer the service to their subscribers.

Requires media companies to create measures so that independent distributors and broadcasters are treated fairly by the large integrated companies. 25% minimum of specialty services¹distributed by large integrated companies must be owned by an independent broadcaster. Any new pay or specialty services launched by a broadcaster must be available upon request to all distributors as an individual service, even if commercial agreements have not yet been finalized.

See Susan Krashinsky, CRTC Rewrites Rules for Mobile Broadcasting, Globe and Mail, September 21, 2011

CRTC Broadcasting Notice of Consultation 2010-783: Review of the Regulatory Framework Relating to Vertical Integration.
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2010/2010-783.htm

CRTC Simplified Index of Media Ownership Charts
http://crtc.gc.ca/ownership/eng/title_org.htm

Some media coverage in Globe and Mail – also check out CBC.ca

Susan Krashinsky. (June 28, 2011). CRTC Faces Regulating a Confounding ‘New World’. Globe and Mail.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/crtc-faces-regulating-a-confounding-new-world/article2079262/

Susan Krashinsky. (June 19, 2011). Rogers Urges CRTC to Reign in Broadcast ‘Wild West’. Globe and Mail.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/tech-news/rogers-urges-crtc-to-rein-in-broadcast-wild-west/article2067263/

Dwayne Winseck. (June 20, 2011). Big Media in the Hot Seat at CRTC Hearings. Globe and Mail.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/digital-culture/dwayne-winseck/big-media-in-the-hot-seat-at-crtc-hearings/article2067311/

Stop Online Spying!

mediascapes3 — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 17:19:32 +0000

Flash! September 20: from OpenMedia.ca:

Under the intense pressure of a 70,000+ signature petition, the government has omitted “Lawful Access” (Online Spying) bills from the larger omnibus crime legislation announced today.

Stop Online Spying is a campaign to stop Canadian ‘lawful access’ legislation that is due to be re-introduced into the Fall 2011 Parliament. Prime Minister Harper has pledged to pass through this legislation as part of an omnibus bill within 100 days of taking office – legislation that would allow for unprecedented online spying without a warrant. Bill C-51, Investigative Powers for the 21st Century Act would

…modernize certain offences in the Criminal Code (the Code) and the Competition Act to take into account new communications technologies and to equip law enforcement agencies with new investigative tools that are adapted to computer crimes. To facilitate collaboration with foreign law enforcement agencies, the bill also amends the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Act. According to the Department of Justice, the new investigative powers within the proposed legislation give law enforcement agencies the ability to address organized crime and terrorism activities online by:

enabling police to identify all the network nodes and jurisdictions involved in the transmission of data and trace the communications back to a suspect. Judicial authorizations would be required to obtain transmission data, which provides information on the routing but does not include the content of a private communication;

requiring a telecommunications service provider to temporarily keep data so that it is not lost or deleted in the time it takes law enforcement agencies to return with a search warrant or production order to obtain it;

making it illegal to possess a computer virus for the purposes of committing an offence of mischief; and

enhancing international cooperation to help in investigating and prosecuting crime that goes beyond Canada’s borders.

Kate Milberry reports on the activism surrounding the proposed legislation here

Critics of the proposed legislation are many:

Winseck:

The bill would make it mandatory for telecom providers, ISPs and search engines to monitor, store, retain and not disclose e-mail, Internet and telephone communications at the request of law and security officials. No warrant necessary……Seen in the context of the copyright wars, usage-based billing and vertical integration, the Investigative Powers has the potential of posing a great threat to personal privacy in the name of security. Each measure on its own chips away at the ideals of an open Internet. If left to stand, the combined force of all four measures could transform the Internet into one of the most regulated media spaces ever known.

Martin:

The bill “will compel Internet service providers to disclose customer information to authorities without a court order. In other words—blunter words—law enforcement agencies will have a freer hand in spying on the private lives of Canadians.”

A coalition of academics and activists and privacy rights groups wrote a letter to Harper

Vincent Gogolek and Reilly Yeo’s op-ed in the Vancouver – Victoria Times-Colonist

Micheal Vonn of the BC Civil Liberties Union at Search Engine here

OpenMedia.ca’s petition can be found here at http://stopspying.ca/ along with more resources

And, check out these videos:

Dwayne Winseck on Canada’s Network-Media Economy

mediascapes3 — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 14:16:48 +0000

Blog columnist Dwayne Winseck of Carleton University has two posts that meticulously detail data on the Canadian media sector between 1984-2010. In a series of two columns Winseck examines the structure of the Canadian mediascape especially regarding concentration. In his first column (appearing August 23, 2011) he documents the size of the Canadian media economy, one that is the eighth largest globally. He details wireless and telecom growth, the broadcasting industry, and the newspaper industry. In his second column (appearing September 6, 2011), he investigates whether the internet and new media have become more concentrated. Winseck specifically looks at the network infrastructure industries (wireless and telecoms), the content industries, and online media. Conclusions?

Combining all of the segments of the network media (except wired and wireless because their size overshadows everything else), the big four’s share of the mediascape has risen steadily: Bell (CTV), Shaw (Global), Rogers (CityTV), QMI (TVA). In 1984, the big four accounted for 40 per cent of all revenues; in 2010, their share was 54 per cent – a far bigger slice of a much bigger pie.

Add these four massive media conglomerates with six other large but more specialized firms and you have the big ten companies at the core of the network media economy: Bell (CTV), Shaw (Global), Rogers (CityTV), QMI (TVA), CBC, Post Media, Cogeco, Astral, Telus and Torstar (see here). Their share of the total network media economy (excluding telecoms services) between 2000 and 2010 hovered steadily around 70-75 per cent – a substantial rise from 63 per cent in 1996, and further still from 53 per cent in 1984.

As for the internet – Google, Facebook, Microsoft dominate.

2011 Copyright Reform?

mediascapes3 — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 16:26:45 +0000

With Parliament set to resume soon, Heritage Minister James Moore says he is prepared to reintroduce amendments to the Copyright Reform Act, the previously called Bill C-32, before Christmas 2011. However, the Supreme Court of Canada has said that it will hear a series of cases about copyright, which could either directly impact the proposed legislation, or delay its re-introduction. One of the issues that will be heard by the SC emantes from educators, in a consideration over whether grade school teachers who make copies of textbooks should be shielded from paying tariffs. According to a CP report, “NDP heritage critic Charlie Angus said the government should be listening to criticism of the bill and making changes before it is forced to by the courts”.

Moore says that there will be no more consultation on the proposed legislation, and a legislative committee will be struck to review the material.

Bill C-32 has been heavily criticized for its strong digital locks provisions, a direct submission to the US copyright legislation. Michael Geist released information wherein US government cables released by Wikileaks

show a stunning willingness by senior Canadian officials to appease American demands for a U.S.-style copyright law here.

The documents describe Canadian officials as encouraging American lobbying efforts. They also cite cabinet minister Maxime Bernier raising the possibility of showing U.S. officials a draft bill before tabling it in Parliament.

The cables, from the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa, even have a policy director for then industry minister Tony Clement suggesting it might help U.S. demands for a tough copyright law if Canada were placed among the worst offenders on an international piracy watch list. Days later, the U.S. placed Canada alongside China and Russia on the list.

Canada’s Cyber-Security Strategy

mediascapes3 — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 15:32:02 +0000

The Government’s ultimate goal is to create a culture of cyber-safety whereby Canadians are aware of both the threats and the measures they can take to ensure the safe use of cyberspace. Creating such awareness will require a sustained effort over a period of several years. The effort must start now.

Vic Toews, Minister of Public Safety, announced an integrated policy on cyber-security.

Update on Fox News North/Sun TV News application

mediascapes3 — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 14:47:11 +0000

Tim Naumetz, Sun TV’s application should be all about fair play, say opposition MPs. The Hill Times, September 13, 2010.
http://www.thehilltimes.ca/page/view/suntv-09-13-2010

The uproar over Sun TV’s bid to launch a conservative all-news channel may be dripping with cross-border Republican versus Democrat politics but, Liberal and NDP MPs insist, the fight over the proposal should be all about fair play and equal access under Canadian broadcasting rules.

OpenMedia.ca: ‘You’re Not Special’
“The best way to stop political interference and special treatment for Fox News North,” said Steve Anderson, National Coordinator of OpenMedia.ca, “is for citizens to ensure their voices are heard during this proceeding. Someone must have unwisely told Teneycke and Quebecor that they deserve special privileges. We should all use the CRTC’s process to let them both know, you’re not special”

CKUT Fox News North Emergency Broadcast

John Geddes,, Can Fox News North Win Its Next Battle? Macleans.ca, September 24, 2010.
http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/09/24/can-fox-news-north/

‘Fox News North’: Tempest at a Tea Party?

mediascapes3 — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 22:22:20 +0000

Quebecor Inc’s announcement for plans to launch a 24-hour news channel called Sun TV News, aimed at Canadian conservative viewers, set off a fierce debate in the Canadian mediascape, with the plot getting thicker and thicker from its initial June announcement. That was when Quebecor CEO Pierre Peladeau announced that former spokesperson for Prime Minister Harper, Kory Teneycke, would head up the project as VP of Business Development, with an investment from Quebecor estimated to be $100M over five years. Reputedly to be loosely based on the format of the very right-wing Fox News in the United States, Teneycke was reportedly in talks with various Canadian conservative pundits to serve as hosts for the cable show (Krashinsky, June 14; Chase, June 11).

Teneycke’s youth and solid conservative credentials garnered much press; in a profile by Globe and Mail journalist Steven Chase it was reported that Teneycke wanted to use Sun TV as a way to skewer some of the “bête noires of the Canadian right. ‘If you have a teacher or examples of teachers who are trying to jam lefty philosophy down your throat, please send me an e-mail,’ Mr. Teneycke told a high-school student at the March conference [2010 Manning Networking Conference]. ‘I’d love to make them famous’” (Chase, July 9).

Quebecor Media asked for a must-carry license (Category 1) for their station, citing special consideration as an information and analysis channel; the CRTC rejected this, saying that no top-category broadcasting licenses would be available until October 2011 at the earliest.

In August Globe and Mail columnist Lawrence Martin asked whether Harper was curtailing the CRTC’s independence related to the issuing of the request for Sun TV: “Do the CRTC board members actually think they can get away with delaying or denying Mr. Harper’s wishes on Fox News North? Do they really believe they have some kind of independent power”, he wrote. He further suggested that insiders were reporting that Harper wanted Chairman Konrad von Finckenstein out before his mandate is set to expire in 2012, with one offer of an ambassadorship in Chile. Vice-Chairman Michel Arpin’s term was not renewed, fueling further speculation of disagreement of Harper with the CRTC. Martin further reported that: “The CRTC is supposed to have some independence. It is supposed be at arm’s length. But, in this government, arm’s length has a different meaning, as in knuckles’ length”.

In response, von Finckenstein wrote a letter to the editor published in The Globe and Mail, vehemently denying any abrogation of their independence:

“I would like to categorically state that no one at any level of government has approached me about the Sun TV application, the appointment of the CRTC’s vice-chair of broadcasting, or my own mandate.

Quebecor’s application is being treated according to the CRTC’s well-established processes. The application was published on Sept. 1 for comment, and a public hearing will be held in Gatineau, Que., starting on Nov. 19. The CRTC will then make a decision on the basis of the evidence on the public record.”

Meanwhile, an online petition, ‘Stop Fox News North’, was initiated by Avaaz.org, a membership driven global online advocacy organization that develops campaigns for social justice. As of September 15, the petition had garnered 81,920 signatures.

To CRTC Chair von Finckenstein and PM Harper:
As concerned Canadians who deeply oppose American-style hate media on our airwaves, we applaud the CRTC’s refusal to allow a new “Fox News North” channel to be funded from our cable fees. We urge Mr. von Finckenstein to stay in his job and continue to stand up for Canada’s democratic traditions, and call on Prime Minister Harper to immediately stop all pressure on the CRTC on this matter.

Celebrated literary novelist Margaret Atwood signed on to the Avaaz petition, and told Jane Taber of the Globe and Mail that “Of course Fox & Co. can set up a channel or whatever they want to do, if it’s legal etc., …But it shouldn’t happen this way. It’s like the head-of-census affair – gov’t direct meddling in affairs that are supposed to be arm’s length – so do what they say or they fire you. It’s part of the ‘I make the rules around here,’ Harper-is-a-king thing”.

Commented Marc Raboy, Beaverbrook Chair in Ethics, Media and Communications at McGill University: “The CRTC is one of the most important Canadian government agencies when it comes to ensuring the democratic function of Canadian media and equitable access for Canadians to those media. As in other civilized countries, it is meant to operate independently, at arms-length from the government of the day. This is a good moment to consider whether Canada is as civilized as we like to think it is…”

In mid-September Avaaz alleged that someone had fraudulently signed the petition with the names of several journalists, as well as the Sesame Street character Snuffleupagus, thus attempting to taint the integrity of their petition. Avaaz asked the Ottawa Police and RCMP to probe this allegation, citing proof that an Ottawa based web address was used to add the names of the petitioners: “We do not yet have all the facts, but it appears to speak to the poisonous political climate and deeply deceptive tactics that have been bred by the radical right in Canada and its progenitor in the US. It is precisely this kind of bare-knuckled, brazenly deceptive and often hateful political climate that Sun TV’s “Fox News North” appears keen to promote.” (http://www.avaaz.org/en/canada_campaign_response, their emphasis).

Teneycke went on the defensive. However, suspicions were raised because of Teneycke’s ability to publicly identify some of the fake petition signatures before the list even became public.

Avaaz responded with a new petition, mounting an online campaign fund:

In just 6 days, our petition to stop “Fox News North” from getting special access to our cable fees has exploded to over 75,000 signatures!

Together, we can stop Harper and his crony-media — which is why “Fox News North” has launched a full scale attack on Avaaz: with smear pieces attacking us in their own newspapers. They’ve also admitted suspicious insider knowledge of a criminal sabotage of our petition — fraudulently signing up key journalists to discredit us in the press as spammers. And we’ve received a letter from their lawyers threatening to sue us if we don’t change our petition within 24 hours!
(http://www.avaaz.org/en/canada_press_release and https://secure.avaaz.org/en/fox_news_north_attacks/?cl=742547333&v=7132)

On September 15, in a surprise move, Teneycke stepped down from his post at Quebecor, stating that his staying at the helm was detrimental to receiving regulatory approval for Sun TV: “Part of leading a team is knowing when your presence is a detriment to success” (Chase & Taber, September 15).

Meanwhile, the CRTC is set to hear Quebecor’s application on November 19^th for the Category 2 specialty license, but have asked for mandatory access – to be offered on at least one tier or package by each cable distributor, for at least the first three years.

A brief chronology (current to past)

September 16, 2010. John Doyle. 10 things you need to know about Fox News North. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/television/john-doyle/10-things-you-need-to-know-about-fox-news-north/article1709111/?cmpid=rss1

September 15, 2010. Steven Chase and Jane Taber. Former Tory Spokesman Exits Sun TV. The Globe and Mail.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-notebook/former-tory-spokesman-exits-sun-tv/article1708269/

September 15, 2010. Don Martin. Teneycke leaving was right move for Sun TV. http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2010/09/15/don-martin-with-teneycke-gone-sun-tv-can-get-on-with-business/

September 10, 2010. Marc Raboy. Harper putting the heat on the CRTC. http://media.mcgill.ca/en/harper_putting_heat_on_crtc

September 8, 2010. Letter to the editor from Konrad Von Finckenstein. The Globe and Mail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/sept-8-letters-to-the-editor/article1699050/

September 3, 2010. CBC Video.Anti-Sun TV petition.(Ricken debates Kory Teneycke).
http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/Featured_Videos/ID=1582123926

September 2, 2010. Susan Krashinsky. Quebecor takes new stab at TV license. The Globe and Mail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/quebecor-takes-new-stab-at-tv-licence/article1694601/

September 1, 2010. CRTC. Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2010-649. Notice of hearing19 November 2010 Gatineau, Quebec Deadline for submission of interventions/comments: 1 October 2010. http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2010/2010-649.htm

September 1, 2010. Jane Taber. Margaret Atwood takes on ‘Fox News North’. The Globe and Mail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-notebook/margaret-atwood-takes-on-fox-news-north/article1692853/

Avaaz.org. Canada: Stop Fox News North.
http://www.avaaz.org/en/no_fox_news_canada/?cl=716944315&v=7018

August 19, 2010. Lawrence Martin. Is Harper set to move against the CRTC? The Globe and Mail.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/lawrence-martin/is-stephen-harper-set-to-move-against-the-crtc/article1677632/

July 15, 2010. Susan Krashinsky. CRTC refuses Sun TV’s bid for preferred status on dial. The Globe and Mail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/crtc-refuses-sun-tvs-bid-for-preferred-status-on-dial/article1641654/

July 9, 2010. Steven Chase. One smooth operator who’s crazy like a Fox. The Globe and Mail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/kory-teneycke-one-smooth-operator-whos-crazy-like-a-fox/article1635102/

June 21, 2010. Brian Topp. The Issue with SUN TV. The Globe and Mail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/second-reading/brian-topp/the-issue-with-sun-tv/article1611422/

June 14, 2010. Susan Krashinsky. ‘Fox news North’ primed for launch. The Globe and Mail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/fox-news-north-primed-for-launch/article1603483/

June 11, 2010. Steven Chase. Right-wing television needs upscale market. The Globe and Mail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/right-wing-television-needs-upscale-market/article1601831/

BCE Makes Bid to Buy CTV

mediascapes3 — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 23:46:03 +0000

BCE Inc. has made a bid to buy CTV Inc. for $1.3B. The deal, if approved by the CRTC, will give control of The Globe and Mail to the Thomson family (who will hold an 85% stake in the newspaper through their holding company, Woodbridge Inc.). BCE is the largest telecom provider in Canada, while CTV is Canada’s largest private broadcaster.

The deal when approved will give Bell 27 television stations, 30 speciality channels, and the Globe. BCE’s strategy is to remain competitive within the mobile media landscape wherein smart phones are increasingly being used for watching content.

The deal also highlights how convergence – itself a term bandied about in the mid to late 1990s with the advent of the ‘information highway’, has now become a reality, particularly because of wireless technologies. This year has already witnessed the merger of Shaw Communications and Global TV ($2B), and Videotron’s recent announcement of a new wireless network also highlights how media corporations foresee the increased use of the mobile for content delivery.

See Steve Ladurantye, Bell Users in New Deal with CTV Deal, The Globe and Mail (September 11, 2010).
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/bell-ushers-in-new-era-with-ctv-deal/article1703754/

A brief history of BCE and CTV, The Globe and Mail
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/bce-and-ctv-a-brief-history/article1702783/

Mediascapes 3 is on Vacation!

mediascapes3 — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 20:56:44 +0000

….and will return late August.