If you’ve been keeping up with Canadian digital privacy laws (or even if you haven’t), you might have seen posts online about Bill C-10. You know, the angry posts by concerned Canadians about their online freedom of expression? Yep, those are the ones. While Bill C-10 may have originally been born with the good intention of helping to regulate the wild west that is online content creation, it has generated a lot of controversy due to changes that the bill has seen in recent weeks. But are these criticisms warranted? I’d like to take you through the creation of this bill and the changes that it has undergone recently so that you can judge for yourself.
Hopeful beginnings
Bill C-10 started out as the first major update to the Broadcasting Act since 1991 – a much needed change, since the way that we consume media has changed immeasurably in the last thirty years. One of the main goals of the bill is to bring huge international streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and YouTube under Canadian regulation in order to ensure that these companies spend money to support Canadian creators and their content. Steven Guilbeault, Canada’s Heritage Minister and one of the main voices behind the bill, claims that “[t]he bill is about restoring a balance that the arrival of the web giants has skewed very seriously in their own favour at the expense of local people and businesses.” [2]
Concerns and controversy
Some Canadians are concerned that Bill C-10 will regulate the content they post online. Image from Yama Saighani from Pexels.
Despite the positive beginnings of this bill, controversy struck in April of this year, when a motion was made to eliminate a clause in the bill that explicitly excluded individual users of social media platforms and independent content creators from regulation under the Broadcasting Act. [1] Many Canadians were startled at this proposed elimination and became concerned about the potential implications for their digital identities and the content that they produce online, but this section of the bill was nevertheless eradicated. Michael Geist, a Canadian academic who specializes in e-commerce law and online security, states that “[t]he government believes that it should regulate all user generated content, leaving it to regulators to determine on what terms and conditions will be attached the videos of millions of Canadians” [3], a plan that he believes is “entirely unworkable, a risk to net neutrality and a threat to freedom of expression”. [4] (Check out our interview with Michael Geist to hear more on his views of Canadian copyright laws.) The Canadian Federation of Library Associations has also called for the reinstatement of the clause that would guarantee protection of freedom of expression for individual content creators.
However, not everyone believes that these criticisms are warranted. Proponents of the bill claim that the clause at hand was eliminated to avoid legal loopholes that companies could take advantage of, not in an attempt to curtail the free speech of Canadians. Specifically, members of the Liberal party say that they removed the clause “because they had heard during the committee testimony from witnesses who flagged that as it was worded, platforms such as YouTube could find a loophole to not be considered music streamers even though they are one of the main places Canadians listen to music.” [1] As Liberal MP Julie Dabrusin (hilariously) put it, “We do not want to regulate your cat videos. The CRTC does not want to regulate your cat videos.” [1]
What do you make of all of this?
With loud voices on either side spouting ideas and opinions that both seem reasonable, it can be hard to know what to think about Bill C-10. Certainly, reigning in tech giants and supporting Canadian creators is important, but freedom of expression is extremely important too. The debate around this bill has also been very heated online, making it even harder to engage with the issue. From personal experience, I would recommend not searching #billc10 on Twitter unless you are ready to see some nasty comments.
Ultimately, as with any legal issue, I believe that the best things that we can do are to keep informed about the bill and its updates and make our voices heard, whether we have concerns or wish to show support. When researching about Bill C-10 online, remember this is a contentious topic, especially on social media. Be sure to assess the partiality of the sources that you read and be careful to keep an eye out for fake news. And if you do decide to voice your opinions about Bill C-10 online, check out this post about using your online democratic voice to brush up on how to respectfully and effectively share your views online.
To read more about the changes to Canadian digital laws, check out last week’s guest post by Alexander Howes about understanding internet regulation in Canada. And be sure to come back next week to check out guest contributor Olivia Done’s post about the upcoming changes to Canada’s Bill C-11 and what they will mean for online data collection.
What do you think about Bill C-10? What kind of changes would you like to see when it comes to regulating online content in Canada? Feel free to share your views in the comments below!
Resources
[1] Aiello, R. (2021, May 7). Is the government trying to regulate the videos that you post? What you need to know about Bill C-10. CTV News. https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/is-the-government-trying-to-regulate-the-videos-you-post-what-you-need-to-know-about-bill-c-10-1.5414080
[2] CBC News. (2021, May 14). Heritage minister stands by controversial Bill C-10, urges MPs to pass it ‘quickly’. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/guilbeault-heritage-committee-bill-c10-1.6026949
[3] Geist, M. (2021, April 23). Freedom of Expression Under Attack: The Liberal Government Moves to Have the CRTC Regulate All User Generated Content. https://www.michaelgeist.ca/2021/04/freedom-of-expression-under-attack-the-liberal-government-moves-to-have-the-crtc-regulate-all-user-generated-content/
[4] Turnbull, S. (2021, May 17). House committee hears clashing expert opinions on Bill C-10. CTV News. https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/house-committee-hears-clashing-expert-opinions-on-bill-c-10-1.5431515
Written by Rachael Bradshaw
Featured image Data Protection Regulation by Mohamed Hassan via Pixaby License
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