(Montreal) As promised in the first 100 days of its mandate, the Trudeau government is returning to the charge with a reform of the Broadcasting Act to regulate the giants of the web, which this time excludes influencers and users social networks.
Posted at 7:20 p.m.
The new bill presented Wednesday by the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Pablo Rodriguez, is essentially the same as its old version adopted last June, but died on the order paper in the Senate due to the triggering of the federal election.
The goal remains the same: to get digital companies like Netflix, YouTube and Spotify to contribute to the creation of Canadian content, Rodriguez said.
Its main change from the old version is its approach to social media. Their creators and users who stream content would be excluded from federal regulation, which will be called the Online Streaming Act.
“The bill is intended exclusively for platforms. Users and so-called influencers and the like are excluded. We are therefore bringing back a clause that had been excluded the last time, ”explained Mr. Rodriguez.
The money a creator makes from their content will not matter under the new law, the minister argued.
It plans to exclude so-called “amateur” content on social networks. Rather, it will focus on commercial products.
The CRTC will have a “very precise sandbox” surrounding the definition of commercial works, assured Mr. Rodriguez. The level of monetization of the content and its operation in whole or in part by a broadcasting company regulated by the CRTC will be taken into consideration, among other things.
The law will not affect the algorithms that can influence the recommendations pushed to users.
Ottawa will ask the CRTC to discuss with each of the platforms in order to determine the level of its contribution to Canadian content based in particular on its business model.
“He will either have the obligation to produce more content or contribute to funds, which will be accessible to our French-speaking producers,” said Mr. Rodriguez.
When the previous bill was passed in the House of Commons, only Conservative Party MPs voted against it.
Minister Rodriguez said he was convinced he had the support of the opposition, even the Conservatives, who expressed their desire to modernize the broadcasting law and provide assistance to artists.
This article was produced with the financial support of the Facebook and The Canadian Press News Fellowships.