Canada's broadcasting regulatory authority, the CRTC, is set to impose rules to limit foreign content. Bill C-11 passed through the house and is heading for the senate. The extent of their powers is not defined in the bill and will be determined by the CRTC
after the bill’s passing.
Google made a blog post about their objections to the bill on Oct 5th [
blog.google...] which links to an OpenMedia petition that, as I type this, has almost reached its target of signatures despite short notice. [
action.openmedia.org...]
In its current form, Bill C-11 could require YouTube, Netflix and others to manipulate the videos it plays and recommends, regardless of viewer interests. Google has objected and launched a campaign to raise awareness of "breathtakingly broad authority to regulate almost ALL audiovisual content on online platforms as broadcasting content".
I don't create streaming content and I have no position other than people really should know more before change is imposed. (discussion and feedback first). This has the potential to affect everyone from Canadians who may never get to see some foreign content and foreign content producers wondering where their Canadian audience went.
