Is Canada's BTLR a Framework For Regulating Internet Content? (easydns.com) 47
Stunt Pope (Slashdot reader #3,287) writes:
This article takes a look at Canada's Broadband Telecom Legislation Review (BTLR) which was commissioned by the federal government in 2018 to map out how Canada's communications and internet laws should be revised.
It posed a set of sweeping recommendations (97 in all) that include imposing new taxes on streaming services, regulating content, and requiring all content creators to obtain a government license.
The article concludes with a call-to-action to sign a petition that has been introduced into the House of Commons requesting that the government categorically reject the entire framework.
It posed a set of sweeping recommendations (97 in all) that include imposing new taxes on streaming services, regulating content, and requiring all content creators to obtain a government license.
The article concludes with a call-to-action to sign a petition that has been introduced into the House of Commons requesting that the government categorically reject the entire framework.
Establishment lockdown (Score:2, Insightful)
The Internet has proven to be more trouble than it's worth to the ruling class.
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The Internet has proven to be more trouble than it's worth, period. Glad to help you out.
If a title asks a question, the answer is "no" (Score:4, Informative)
Taxes (Score:3)
How do you tax streaming content that comes from some other country?
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How do you tax streaming content that comes from some other country?
Right now it's expected that people buying for those services in Canada declare and pay the actual consumption tax(es) themselves, as foreign companies aren't required to collect and remit those taxes for their canadian customers.
Not sure how they plan to force foreign companies to do that now.
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Exactly like Argentina does: make the credit card companies collect the tax.
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A Canada tax on buying the needed gift card using cash.
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How do you tax streaming content that comes from some other country?
The problem is, it doesn't come from some other country. Streaming services fragment their markets for licensing reasons. Rights to stream content are sold on a per country basis. That's why the Canadian Netflix has completely different content than the American Netflix, and you can only watch if your IP address matches the country whose service you subscribe to. In the past, people used VPNs to get around these restrictions, but the streaming services have wised up to that and they now block access thr
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You force the credit card companies to collect that tax.
Like Argentina does when charging 21% VAT to streaming services.
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Don't they tax blank media up there, like CD-Rs? So I imagine they would add the tax to your internet connection on the assumption that you stream stuff, just like they assume CD-Rs are used to pirate music.
If I was Canadian I'd take that as a licence to pirate stuff I already paid for...
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Go for the win (Score:3, Insightful)
>"That include imposing new taxes on streaming services, regulating content, and requiring all content creators to obtain a government license."
Wow, that is really going for the win, the triple-take! Tax it, control what can be said, and make it exclusive to who they think deserves the ability. With that type of thinking, I am sorry for Canadians right now, glad I am not one, and hope you get such nonsense rejected...
Re: Go for the win (Score:2)
You do realize the government in canada is left wing right now. And has been for the last 4 years.
These are left wing ideas, not right wing.
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It's mostly already law. All they have to do is get rid of the digital exemption. It's also not as big of a deal as it's made out to be. A company operating with no Canadian presence will not be affected. Example, Netflix's Canadian operations would be impacted but not their US/international operations.
Broadcasters have been operating under the regime for decades without issue.
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> I am sorry for Canadians right now, glad I am not one, and hope you get such nonsense rejected...
The trouble is that we Canadians (in my opinion mistakenly) blame many of the US' political woes on the free-speech nature of the Internet.
If the promoters can frame it as a choice between "calm just-the-excesses" regulation versus "descent into American-style political tribalism", they have a decent chance of most Canadians choosing regulation.
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BTLR? (Score:4, Funny)
Bacon Tomato Lettuce on Rye?
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Canadian bacon. Domestic content laws, you know.
Quick Answer (Score:2)
Yes.
Defeat it and move on, or give up your right to free expression.
So exactly how long (Score:2)
has weed been legal in Canada?
It would explain a lot of this framework.
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This type of shit has been going on longer then legal weed. There's a thing called CANCON which mandates by law that x amount of broadcast material must be "canadian" on broadcast media. That's going back to the 1980s, if not a bit further. It's always been like this up here in Canada though, whenever a leftwing government comes into power the first things they start to do is consolidate and try to force media into line. In the 90's the Liberals tried to censor and control the internet, it became too big
What? Is it Canada we're talking about here? (Score:2)
... posed a set of sweeping recommendations ...that include regulating content, and requiring all content creators to obtain a government license...
In all fairness, I will not immediately judge. Let me wait for Slashdotters based in the west to scorn Canada, for if it were China/Russia/Venezuela or Iran, these same folks would be "riding the high horse" saying they're lucky to be in the west where freedom reigns.
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That happened in the last federal election. Media outlets that didn't toe the government line were refused accreditation and some people were arrested. The federal government(Liberals), spent around $500k in the courts to try and block specific media groups from having access to their public events. In the end the courts threw all of these out, but the fact they tried shows just how authoritarian it was.
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How many do you need? Pick your favorite search engine. Though here's [spencerfernando.com] a few for you [spencerfernando.com]. From those two cases you won't have problems finding the legal cases.
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"I don't like the source because it doesn't like someone." I'm enjoying the extremist thinking. Oh it's on canlii.org, try "Canada federal" court rulings and cases over the last year. Can't wait for you to be surprised.
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This seems to be aimed at regulating the incursion of foreign-owned entities into the Canadian market. The proposal "extends the Broadcasting Act" to Internet based entities: that act limits non-Canadian ownership of Canadian television and radio station, requires them to run a certain amount Canadian-sourced content, and imposes things like decency standards on them. The act also attempts to prevent various forms of broadcast media consolidation, something we used to have here in the US.
They also want to
Finally someone will force TPB to follow the rules (Score:2)
When you commission a report by the entrenched what other results do you expect?
More segregation (Score:1)
Probably something designed to keep us segregated from the rest of the world in terms of content like many of the CRTC rules imposing limits on "foreign content"
Here are the actual recommendations (Score:4, Informative)
Canada has a tradition of promoting Canadian content. One of those means has been to require broadcasters to have a certain percentage of Canadian content. The government has also had rules about rating content for violence, nudity, drug use and certain language. None of those these things are currently done with online streamed content. The recommendations also talk about the harm of near monopolists and enforcement. Even if you disagree with the idea of government legislation over the internet it is worth reading what the recommendations are before condemning them base on what someone else says they are.
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Foreign content rules (Score:2)
It wouldn't surprise me if Canadian cable/satellite/OTA companies are lobbying for some of this stuff because they don't like the fact that they are subject to Canadian content rules but streaming providers like Netflix or Amazon or Disney aren't required to follow those same rules.
Lol (Score:2)
Good luck with that. I'm sure all Fortnight players posting their exploits on YouTube are definitely going to get licenses.
Youtube videos? (Score:2)
You have a license for those cat videos, eh?
Domestic content laws require that 40% be moose videos?
Regulation goes beyond regulation of Netflix (Score:1)