Liberals aim to quell free speech concerns with new Streaming Act – National
Liberal government has revive an invoice requires streaming companies, such as Netflix, to follow the same rules as traditional Canadian broadcasters.
The Streaming Act, enacted Wednesday, will force web companies to provide a certain amount of Canadian content and invest heavily in Canada’s cultural industries, including film and television. and music.
Bill C-11, as it is known in Congress, updates the Broadcasting Act of 1991 that predates the internet revolution that changed the way people view movie and video content and listen to music.
If approved, streaming services, such as Netflix, Crave and Spotify, would be regulated by the Canadian Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission and required to invest in cultural businesses of Canada.
They will also have to commit to reflecting diversity in their programming, including Indigenous content.
Measure C-11 updates controversial sections of an earlier bill that critics say could lead to regulation that people post videos on YouTube.
Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez said at a press conference on Wednesday that “cat videos” or “influencers” on social media would not be mentioned in the bill.
The updated law will only cover commercial social media content – such as professional music videos – and will not include popular home videos posted on YouTube, such as scenes of children or pets. behave in a funny way.
Rodriguez said the government was “listening to the concerns surrounding social media and we’ve remedied it.”
Rodriguez said he planned to write to the CRTC asking the organization to determine exactly what social media content is commercial and what would not be eligible.
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Jeanette Patell, YouTube Canada’s head of government affairs, said its focus is “on the interest of thousands of Canadian digital creators and the millions of Canadians who use YouTube every day”.
“We think the government shares this concern,” she said. “We are still reviewing the impact of the law on our platform and look forward to working with them on this important issue.”
The previous bill proposing to modernize the Broadcasting Act failed to pass the Senate before the September general election, although it was passed by the House of Representatives with the support of the Bloc Quebecois and the NDP.
John Nater, the Conservative Party legacy critic, thinks the bill is flawed and sent a letter last week to Rodriguez urging him to halt plans to reintroduce it.
The Canadian Media Producers Association, which represents independent production companies, welcomed the new bill and said it would “strengthen Canada’s cultural sovereignty, which requires giant tech companies. Foreigners must follow the same rules as Canadian companies.”
“The Streaming Act must ensure that independent Canadian producers have a fair opportunity to negotiate with content buyers to own, control, and monetize the intellectual property they develop and manufacturing,” said association president Reynolds Mastin.
Stephane Cardin, head of public policy at Netflix Canada, said the company is “investing in Canadian creators and working with industry partners to bring Canadian stories to the world”.
“We are looking at new legislation, but supporting a forward-looking and flexible framework that recognizes how different players contribute to our creative system,” said Cardin.
Critics have raised concerns that the bill’s definition of what constitutes Canadian content could exclude films made in Canada with Canadian actors if the key figures, such as the house writers, directors and producers, from outside.
Critics say that music written and produced by Canadian artists in the US can also be considered non-Canadian.
Rodriguez said he would ask the CRTC to clearly state what constitutes Canadian content.
“The Streaming Act will help ensure that our cultural sector works for Canadians and supports the next generation of artists and creators in this country,” he added.
Nater said he supports creating a level playing field between major foreign streaming services and Canadian broadcasters but is concerned that the bill affects the “rights and freedoms of Canadians”. on the Internet”. He said the Tories would oppose the law if these concerns were not addressed.
Peter Julian, the NDP’s legacy critic, said he would go through it “line by line” to see if it solved the problems in the previous version.
Marla Boltman, executive director of Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, says that updating the Broadcasting Act is long overdue and is essential to bringing big technology into Canada’s regulatory system.
© 2022 Canadian Press
https://globalnews.ca/news/8590226/bill-c10-c11-social-media-regulation-free-speech/ Liberals aim to quell free speech concerns with new Streaming Act – National
