I’m still working on sorting out my own thoughts on the U.S.’s (latest) attempts to destroy the internet as we know it – SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act, the House bill) and PIPA (Protect IP Act, the Senate’s bill). I am actually trying to read them instead of trusting other people’s interpretations, but fuck, they’re long-winded and boring. Like most laws! In the meantime, I found this excellent video that explains things (though with an obvious perspective) in easy to understand terms, and with some fun graphics. Shoot that pirate flag! Enjoy.
Topic All
Google FAIL
Pretty slow news week in the world of internet law in Canada. Apparently we can’t have a big CRTC decision every week. Tragic, really. So let’s have a little fun. We’ve got some internet news that’s not law-related out of Google, as yesterday they announced that they are killing off seven Google products due to suckiness. Let’s take a look at the products you won’t miss after the jump.
CRTC gets it right again! (sort of, maybe)
So yesterday our old friends at the CRTC came down with a decent decision. Another one! But it may not really be the awesome win for you and me that you think it is. Let’s take a look at this whole usage-based billing business (say that five times fast) after the jump.
Open internet, hell yeah!
There was a big win today for the open, free internet we’ve come to know and love. The United States Senate rejected a law that would have overturned the net neutrality rules established by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) last year. The vote was completely along party lines, with all the Democrats voting to reject, so that should tell you what side of this debate you should be on.
Now, I’m supposed to be talking about internet law in Canada around here, so after the jump I’ll figure out some way to bring this all back home.
Kill Bill C-11 Volume 3.14159…: Make me a mash-up, Mister!
Start Trek:TNG clips + Patrick Stewart’s gay role from Jeffrey = comedy gold. Well, to us geeky types anyway. But is it legal? Under Bill C-11, yes! Well, sort of. As usual, these things are complicated. Join me after the jump for part 3 of my Bill C-11 series to see what you have to do if you want to create and post on YouTube that “Rebecca Black’s Friday Night Lights” video you’ve always dreamed of.
Kill Bill C-11 Volume 2: the notices from your ISP are coming!!!
As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, Bill C-11, The Copyright Modernization Act, has been introduced in Parliament and we are headed to a whole new regime of Copyright in this country. And I promised to have an ongoing series on the effects of the Bill on the internet. Well, two posts counts as a series, right?
After the jump, let’s explore the “notice and notice” regime imposed by the Bill. Sure that sounds boring, but what legal “regime” doesn’t? And you, Mr. or Mrs. Illegal Downloader, will want to know about this.
SCC FTW!
So recently we praised the CRTC; today we praise the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC). What is up with these institutions? Yesterday the Court granted some kick-ass protection to anyone who has ever linked to defamatory content on their site. Check out the details after the jump.
A month of blogging and already I am re-using content
Sorry I haven’t posted this week, I’ve been busy preparing my liver for my Law 10-year reunion this weekend. But I still have something for you. Here’s an article I wrote about Facebook and privacy for McGill’s Faculty of Law magazine, Focus online. It lacks my usual sarcastic snark you’ve come to love, but it’s educational I guess.
Hurray for government bureaucracy!
Wait, what?
Let’s praise a regulator for a change after the jump…
Kill Bill C-11 Volume 1: Goodbye isoHunt?
Late last week, the Conservative Government introduced Bill C-11 to the House of Commons. Bill C-11 is the Canadian Government’s fourth attempt (one Liberal, three Conservative) to update Canada’s Copyright Act for the modern technological age. (Did you know under current copyright law it’s technically illegal for you to DVR programs to watch them later? Yeah, the law needs updating). Over the next weeks and probably months I’ll take a look at how the Bill’s provisions would affect the internet. If you want an overview of the Bill, Barry Sookman just posted a good summary, and Geist is always good, though his focus on digital locks (a significant part of copyright reform) has bordered on obsessive for several years now.
After the jump, I’ll look at how one of the new provisions could spell the end of one of the most useful sites on the internet, and a personal favourite, isoHunt.
Big Brother is seriously watching you
Mmm, that's good irony
Find out how Facebook is screwing with your privacy (today) after the jump…
Twitter should sue the pants off of Facebook
Have you logged into Facebook in the last day or so? If you haven’t, go ahead and do it now. I’ll wait. (…) So did you see that new feed on the right hand side? It’s part of Facebook’s new “features” which are rolling out this week. Ugh. Forgetting the stupidity of some of the other features (bugs), let’s break down the all-new FB “ticker” after the jump.Continue reading
Allen
Mendelsohn
is me.
I am a lawyer specializing in internet law working out of Montreal, though sometimes I do it in front of the U.S. Capitol. That should tell you what you need to know about internet law in Canada. I also warp young legal minds at the Faculty of Law at McGill.
More about me