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All Hail our New CRTC Overlord

Regulatory regime in Canada

ugh

Yes this is Stephen Harper. That's the point.

On Friday (news dump day), the Conservative government announced their choice to replace Konrad “The Killer” von Finckenstein as head of the CRTC, starting June 18th. His name is Jean-Pierre Blais, and he’s… some guy. He’s a lawyer (ugh), and he has held high-level government positions at the Treasury Board, Department of Canadian Heritage, and even the CRTC itself. So, lifelong bureaucrat. Here’s the money blockquote from the article linked above:

Telecom insiders predict Mr. Blais, 51, is more likely to anticipate and comply with Conservative government policy leanings.

Looks like Harper got himself a yes-man. Don’t get me wrong, this guy has experience in the CRTC and was its general counsel, so he understands the issues. Doing something about those issues that benefits the people of Canada instead of the giant media corporations? Well, we’re gonna have five years of this guy to answer that question.

“Lawful” Access Shenanigans!

Internet law basics, Privacy, Regulatory regime in Canada

Vic vic vic [sigh]It’s been my dream to use the word “shenanigans” in a blog post for a long time. I really love the word; it’s got such a nice old-timey feel to it. So what would you call a bunch of ISPs, telecom companies, and industry groups getting together with the government in secret before the introduction of Vic Toews’ old friend, Bill C-30, The Catching Sexual Predators / Internet Spying / “Lawful” Access Bill? You are correct, sir. SHENANIGANS.

So Michael Geist (or more likely his army of students) did some yeoman’s work in filing an Access to Information request. They hit the motherload. Let Mr. Geist explain what they found:

in the months leading up to the introduction Bill C-30, Canada’s telecom companies worked actively with government officials to identify key issues and to develop a secret Industry – Government Collaborative Forum on Lawful Access.

Lovely! So in January 2012, a bunch of industry types and government reps sat down for a meeting. All the big boys were there – Rogers, Bell, Vidéotron. After some coffee and delicious muffins (or so I assume, maybe they were danishes), they sat around and figured out how to fuck over their subscribers at the government’s request. Fun! Just so you know they were serious:

representatives have been granted Government of Canada Secret level security clearance and signed non-disclosure agreements

So we’ve got the country’s oligopolisitic media / telecom companies and the government colluding in secret to try to pass legislation no one in the public wants. Just another day at the office.

Kill Bill C-11 Vol. 6: MPs gettin’ bitchy part 2

Copyright

It looks so civilisedWhile you spend your time today on hold trying to contact your broker to get your hands on some juicy Facebook stock, I’ve got a treat for you! Earlier this week, the Conservatives finally said “enough with this shit” (may not be actual quote), and cut off debate during the report stage on Bill C-11, the Copyright Modernization Act that you are all so sick of by now. With the Bill passing the report stage, it leaves only third reading and a Senate rubber stamp before this baby is law. But to make it fun (?), just like the last time, I’ve slogged through the Parliamentary transcript to pull out some totally out-of-context quotes so we can all laugh / weep at our democracy in action.

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Can you say “my Prof sucks” on Facebook?

The Courts

I really really dislike timelineA nice little case popped out of the Alberta Court of Appeal on Wednesday of this week. A couple of dudes at the University of Calgary were none too happy with a prof of theirs and took to Facebook to express their displeasure. The University was not pleased. Four years later, we’ve got a resolution. So can you say what you want on Facebook? Let’s find out.

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Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi

Copyright, The Courts

Guy in suit for the win!Ten days ago, there was a internet law case decided in Australia. Boy am I timely! But this case is HUGELY important, and as I am finally recovered from 4/20, I need to inform my three blog readers of what this case is all about. How can an Australian case be important in Canada? All will be explained in due course, dear reader, hopefully without any Vegemite jokes (well I guess one).

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“Happy” 4/20: Weed, the internet, and the law

Internet law basics

Gotta love Willie!Whoa, duuuuude. It’s, like, 4/20 today. Recently, much has been made of florida marijuana laws in the ever-growing struggle for legalization, but the war seems to be going in the right direction. While you’re out there joining Willie and Woody and all our weed heroes celebrating, I’m here to like, totally bum you out man. Better turn on some Bob Marley or something while you read about all the ways you can get into trouble at the crossroads where weed and the internet meet. But first, if you are looking for a new pipe to enhance your cannabis smoking experience, then go to https://fatbuddhaglass.com/ to take a look at some of the latest products. There is no time like the present when it comes to celebrating 4/20 after all!

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Thank goodness for internet porn. Wait, what?

The Courts

Not explicit enough for me!Ah, internet porn. Is there nothing you can’t do? You see, if it wasn’t for the internet porn websites like https://www.watchmygirlfriend.xxx/, technology would be five years behind, and most likely internet law would be five years behind too. Because internet porn is so pervasive, because it involves internet payments, contracts, intellectual property and plenty more legal issues for people all over the world, a lot of cases end up in court. Above all, it is no secret that the adult entertainment industry is not going anywhere. With a diverse range of websites such as twinki.xxx satisfying desires for erotic content all over the world, the pornography sector has gone from strength to strength in recent years. Nonetheless, although internet porn is hugely popular, it is not without its issues. One such case released last week has some important lessons about jurisdiction over Canadian pornographers (ok, all companies) in an American court. Let’s take a look at the case and also use it for a little lesson about jurisdiction here in Canada (well, Quebec).

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Who wants to sue Facebook?

The Courts

you really like this!Well I am sure we’d all like to sue FB to get a piece of that sweet, sweet cash. A woman in Vancouver has actually gone ahead with it though, and in fact is representing a whole bunch of people in a class action, so maybe you can get in on it! Let’s break down what’s going on and see if we could do something like this in Quebec, where hopefully I’ll be your lawyer. I want that sweet, sweet cash too!

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Copyright infringement is a dangerous crime!

Copyright

CRIME CRIME CRIME WORSE THAN MURDERIt’s piracy week here at AM.com! This story is not necessarily a 100% internet law story (it’s maybe 87.3%) but it really caught my eye yesterday. And I think it does have a bunch of lessons for the internet law fans out there. Some dude in Winnipeg this week pleaded guilty to copyright infringement and got an 18-month sentence and a $20,000 fine. Once you pick your jaw up off the floor, I’ll explain how all of this is possible.

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Microsoft vs. the Pirate Bay

Copyright

YARRRRRRRRRRRRIt was widely reported yesterday (first over the weekend by Torrentfreak), that links to the Pirate Bay were being blocked by MSN Messenger. Yes yes, I know, who uses MSN Messenger anymore? Some people, apparently! This seemed like an awesome story, the confluence of pirating, copyright, the intertubes, and the evil Microsoft empire. Right in my wheelhouse!

So I thought I would write a huge piece about freedom of expression, the internet, the future of copyright, and everything. But first, I felt that in the name of journalism (?), I should try to confirm the findings. Here’s what transpired over MSN (with the name of the recipient withheld for, uh, privacy?):

Who's that handsome fellow?

Well that was a bust. At least you’re spared my rantings. For today.

Kill Bill C-11 Vol. 5: Enable this! (or, Goodbye and good luck isoHunt)

Copyright

Your servers are slow but damn we love youHowdy kidz! It’s Monday Morning, which is the absolute bestest time to read legislation! And read legislation we shall. Don’t go away, this is important! Maybe. Last week, Bill C-11, The Copyright Modernization Act (you should all know that by now), made it out of committee and will come back to the House soon for third reading, passage, then rubber-stamping by the Senate before it gets official Royal Assent. And we now have the details of the amendments that the Committee passed. Note that all the amendments passed were Conservative ones, and all the Liberal and NDP amendments failed. Try to act shocked. Anyway, I thought I would take a look at one of the amendments that directly affects the internet and our favourite method to locate torrent files, isoHunt. Let’s break it down after the jump.

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Sookman rips Geist a new one. Again.

Copyright

Well they look happy hereIn my business, there are no two more important people than Barry Sookman and Michael Geist. They are the giants of Intellectual Property and internet law in this country, and I’ve had the pleasure of speaking with both of them. What’s fun for the outside observer is that they are on opposite ends of the ideological spectrum. Sookman is a corporate guy working to protect the economic rights of the big boys, while Geist is sort of a Lawrence Lessig disciple who stands up for the little guy but who some believe goes a little too far in his disdain for a lot of legitimate protection for rights holders. This has led to some epic pissing matches between the two (though usually done politely), one just a month ago. The latest volley was lobbed yesterday, as Sookman wrote a piece that was, well, hmmm. Not so nice? I can’t really explain it. Join me after the jump for the juicy blockquotes.

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