Do you like your internet service? You probably don’t. But the CRTC is going through a massive process to find out the answer. Yesterday they dropped the mic with the results of a huge study of Canadians’ opinions about their internet services. Let’s dive in!
Author: allen
Do we have internet freedom in Canada?
That sounds like a fascinating question! And guess what internet expert has been tasked to answer it? Wrong! It’s me.
So the fine folks at Freedom House, a long-standing and tremendously well-respected “independent watchdog organization dedicated to the expansion of freedom and democracy around the world”, do amazing work. As part of it, they publish numerous in-depth reports about freedoms and rights around the world. One of the reports is Freedom on the Net, an annual worldwide study of, uh, freedom on the net. They ask internet experts around the world to write reports about their country. The 2014 and 2015 Canadian reports were written by none other than Michael Geist. This year, they asked some idiot with a blog. I am humbled and honoured. But I am still an idiot.
So please, help me! Hit that big blue comment button below this paragraph and tell me – do you think we have internet freedom in Canada? Are you free to say what you want? To do what you want? To download what you want? Are the ISPs or the government screwing you over? Are you being blocked somehow? Are “they” watching you? (go easy on that last one steve). Help me help the world understand if we have internet freedom in Canada. This is a big responsibility and I need your help. Thx.
Twitter! Revenge porn! It’s the Jurisprudence Week in Review
We’ve had two important internet law cases coming out of Ontario over the last week or so. I have spent the last couple of days trying to figure out which one to write about. After much soul-searching drinking, I’ve decided to write about both. This is probably a mistake.
Happy Holidays and all that jazz
Thanks so much to steve and the rest of you readers who make blogging about this law stuff a lot of fun. As I predict every year, I am sure this internet thingamajig will take off in 2016. Sooner or later that will come true.
Happy holidays!
The Supreme Court does some technology things
“Broadcast-incidental copies” does not sound like a major jumping off point for a huge case about copyright and technology, but apparently it is. And now I have to figure out what the hell it means, in light of the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in CBC v. SODRAC from a couple of weeks ago. Goddammit.
Let’s “look” at the TPP
Hey big news today! And it has brought yours truly out of hiding. So it looks like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a go! What’s the TPP? Damned if I know, because I’ve never seen the TPP agreement. Well, no one has ever seen it! So why is your humble blogger talking about it? A couple of lines on a government website have me perturbed. Let’s find out which ones.
Law-talking guy invading your TV again
If you turn on Canada AM these days, chances are you’re gonna see some random lawyer dude who doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Or, you know, me. So here’s me this week talking about all the data that the smartphone fitness apps and wearables are collecting when you’re out there getting your ass in shape. Who owns that data? What are the legal issues surrounding it? Damned if I know. But damned if that doesn’t stop me from attempting to answer that question on national TV! Here’s some background for you.
Kudos to CTV for finally allowing their video to be embedded. It’s the internet way. Also, thanks to Bev Thompson who was a delight. I have now hit for the cycle of Canada AM hosts.
B.C. Court of Appeal stretches reach to far corners of the planet
My two loyal readers may remember the case of Equustek Solutions Inc. v. Google Inc. OK, even I admit I had trouble remembering it, since I wrote about it almost a year ago and a year is forever in internet time. But it sounded vaguely familiar, so I Googled myself (ha!). And what I found was that I was quite prescient, for the title of that post was “This hugely important Google case will be going on for a while…” Well I got that right! I wrote in that post that “I still think the Court of Appeal will overturn the order in the end”. Well about 10 days ago the BC Court of Appeal decision came down and I got that… less right.
When is a Facebook threat a “threat”?
On Monday this week the U.S. Supreme Court came down with their decision in the case of Elonis v. United States, which is all about a terrible rap lyricist threatening to kill or hurt a bunch of people on Facebook. Let’s take a look at the decision and see if it has any implications for Canada (spoiler alert – it does not! It’s U.S. law!).
We have a notice! Let’s rip it to shreds.
The entire editorial team and staff here at AM.com have been anxiously waiting for someone to forward them a notice that they received through their ISP under the new notice and notice regime. Well, jackpot! We received one about a month ago, and since then we have received several more. A very kind person has allowed me to reprint it here, as a public service. And I will be ripping it apart.
CRTC sorta kinda does some things about the internet
Oh CRTC you little vixen you. You are not supposed to be involved in the internet, yet over the past week you have stuck your nose in it twice. Fun! Let’s see what you had to say. I do wish they had left internet affairs to the professional ISPs. I’m afraid that the CRTC has failed to value the internet accordingly. If you go to https://www.eatelbusiness.com/ then you will understand how significant a role it plays even for businesses. And now, the CRTC has encroached on us all with their latest damning remarks.
Shifty-eyed internet law expert saying things on national TV again
Libel! Tweets! Hockey! If there was ever a story the media would come calling to yours truly, it’s this one. Quick background for those too lazy to read the linked article – TSN rebroadcast a defamatory tweet on TV. Whoopsie! Said tweet involved two Toronto Maple Leafs and Elisha Cuthbert, and is rated NC-17 for language and sexual situations. Here’s some defamation background for you. The players and Cuthbert want to sue TSN and the original tweeter. TSN is owned by Bell, who also partly own the Leafs. Awwwwkward.
Unfortunately still no embeddable video from CTV, so you’ll have to click over there to watch it. Please ignore the blinking and “you know”s. Ugh.
Oh and btw, the delightful Marci Ien refers to me as “legal specialist on all things internet, lawyer Allen Mendelsohn” in her intro. Please put that on my tombstone.
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