A self-proclaimed group representing digital creators and fervent defender of the federal plan to force Web platforms to discover Canadian content online turns out to be paid by Youtube and TikTok, provoking the ire of Minister Pablo Rodriguez.
“It raises a lot of questions. […] on his independence, on his neutrality, on, in fact, his remarks as a whole. He is anything but neutral there, ”said the Minister of Heritage about the pressure group Digital First Canada.
The organization, which claims on its entirely English website to be the defender “of the millions of Canadians who create content to be discovered online”, would be partially funded by foreign platforms, according to its director Executive Scott Benzie during a parliamentary committee Monday night.
“We received funding from our partner platforms,” replied Mr. Benzie to a question from an elected government official. He then clarified that Youtube – owned by the Californian Google – and TikTok – by the Chinese ByteDance – send money to Digital First Canada, even if 80% of its funding comes from elsewhere.
“It’s shocking to me, it’s like being a union that says it receives money from management, compared Ontario Liberal MP Chris Bittle. Take their money and then [militer pour] the status quo, how is this not a conflict of interest? »
Against “discoverability”
The representative of Digital First Canada vehemently opposed certain specific aspects of Minister Rodriguez’s proposed modernization of the Broadcasting Act (C-11). The text proposes to include in the federal regulation the large Web platforms that distribute “commercial programs” such as music and films. These platforms will have to fund Canadian culture and promote its discovery on the Web.
The latter goal was described as “impossible” and “harmful” by Mr Benzie on Monday. “It’s not going to help any content get known,” he argued, echoing Youtube’s argument that putting forward an artist for an unreceptive audience would have the perverse effect of make it tumble in the world charts managed by the algorithm of the platform, kept secret.
Digital First Canada presents its work as defending digital creators [en anglais, Digital first creators] “in terms of legislation and relations with platforms”. The organization also has the mission of organizing “industry events”, activities that would bring in the bulk of its budget.
Its website has a petition calling on the minister to “fix C-11,” claiming that the law would hurt Canadian content creators. Scott Benzie is also quoted in the media, such as in an article in the Toronto Star in which he exposes the alleged dangers of the law specifically for users of the Youtube and TikTok platforms.
User Content
Even if Minister Pablo Rodriguez constantly repeats that his bill excludes content uploaded by simple Internet users, the phrasing of his text is interpreted inversely by his critics. Even the outgoing chairman of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), Ian Scott, said in May that the text would open the door to regulating public content, since “there are provisions allowing it”.
Joined by The duty, Mr. Benzie explains that Digital First Canada was created this winter in particular to criticize this aspect of C-11, while he generally supports the idea of regulation. Although no web creators are members of his organization, he says his “expertise” in the field allows him to bring their interests to Ottawa.
“I don’t think we should protect ourselves from platforms,” he explains. We are aligned on this issue, to protect digital creators in the law, but we do not agree on everything, ”he says, claiming for example to campaign for the transparency of algorithms.
The director of Digital First Canada specifies that his work is voluntary and describes the contributions of the platforms as “tiny” and “known”. “How are we supposed to exist? The creators of the Web are not recognized as artists”, he justifies.
Benzie met with Bloc Québécois MP Martin Champoux on behalf of Digital First Canada, according to the federal lobbyists registry. The party told the To have to that the financial links with the platforms have never been revealed. The Bloc Québécois even says it insisted that the lobbyist register, which it seems not to have done for its meetings that it says it had with the other parties.